Just Say No to Violence…

For the past few months, for whatever reason, I have been growing increasingly concerned with the plethora of violence in our world. Instances of school-yard bullying (bullies were trying to extort money from a 15 year old) to wars and terrorist acts overseas have been catching my attention, and making me quite uneasy. Violent acts on TV and in movies, and numerous graphically violent video games pervade our society. I am not sure why this violence has begun to trouble me so much, but it has. I have even got rid of my Xbox games and switched to a Nintendo DS, whose selection of games offer more violence-free choices. Whatever the reason that this is on my mind, I seriously believe that we as a species need to change our ways. We need to boycott violence.

An event occurred last night that has galvanized me into finally blogging about this (I have not blogged for several weeks, and I have been promising this “boycott violence” blog for some time now…). Last night, a group of men from the church we attend went to a Junior A hockey game here in Langley. Junior A is good hockey, guys about 18 – 20 years old. There was scoring, hitting and even some fighting, as one would expect from a hockey game. The guys around me (from the church) were even cheering during the fight. Normally, this is not that disturbing, but I was really disgusted by watching these young guys pound each other, rage and anger ruling, over nothing more than a game. And as I contemplated this last night, the other disturbing thing occurred to me. The church we attend (in fact the entire denomination) has as one of its central tenets or philosophies, a non-violent or pacifist philosophy. Yet here were members of the church, including pastors, cheering on hockey fights. Now I am not condemning their actions, I am sure they were not even thinking of it. But where is the worth of watching these young men fight, causing us to cheer and jeer as they use their bare fists to inflict damage on each other?

Violence abounds in our world, and there is arguably little good reasons for it. Perhaps using violence to prevent others form being hurt is a reasonable option, but only in the short term. As Dr. Martin Luther King put it:
“Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.”
Whether it is “fighting” terrorism or playing a violent video game, little good comes of violence. The problem with violence is that it is quick, easy and does get results, whereas diplomacy and talking require hard work and probably the most painful of all: concessions. No one likes giving something up, even to ensure peace, so initiate a fight and try to take what you want. Granted in events like World War II, violence might have been a necessary evil. Hitler was a madman, and no amount of diplomacy would have stopped him. In our modern world of instant communication, we should be able to avoid violence. Some world powers feel differently, but I digress…

We are a society that is increasingly desensitized to violence. TV, movies video games (there is a study that has shown that playing a violent video game activates the same brain regions as thinking violent thoughts, but there is not enough evidence showing a direct causal effect between playing violent video games and committing violent acts. I think that these games desensitize us to violence, and if you have slaughtered hundreds of sentient beings in a combat simulator, how does that effect your empathy towards others in the real world? After all, they use flight simulators to train pilots…), road rage, bullying etc. I think it is time that the human race grew up, and being to act like the “higher beings” that many think we are.

Boycott violence. Stop others from being violent. Talk, be patient and listen. I fear our world is doomed unless we begin to leave our infancy and grow up.

Mutterings in the Wind…

I sit and dwell upon the world, and I am unimpressed… I am waiting for a teaching authority (Langley or Abbotsford for now) to call me, but they refrain. “Why?” I ask myself. Is it that I am unworthy to work for them, or is it that I am too wonderful, and they are intimidated by the wonder, the might, the sheer complexity that is me. (Sorry, just trying to boost my self-esteem). It is more likely that the wheels of bureaucracy grind slowly, and thus I am made to wait, sitting at my computer, blogging my thoughts for my 3 or 4 loyal readers to gaze upon and despair.

I continue to slog at the electronics mine, selling things full of silicon, germanium, arsenic, mercury, titanium, iron, lead, polymerized hydrocarbons and other assorted nasties to people who might or might not actually need them. In fact, I am dealing with more chemicals than I did when I was actually teaching high school chemistry… Oh well, it is a job, and I have it, and it is really not the worse place in the world to be, so I will endure.

Not much else new in my life. I am really in a state of limbo, or waiting if you prefer. ‘Waiting’ has a more hopeful sound than ‘limbo’. Now if I had said purgatory, that would be really bad. I certainly do not feel that I am suffering for past sins… I do continue to fight ignorance and cruelty, though I have not had many places in which to battle. Ask my sister, as I gave some basic information on the theory of evolution in response to a sermon she heard.

I think I will go, for I have depressed you, my loyal reader, far more than I am sure that you wished upon entering this, my virtual domain.

Until Next Time

Scott
“Ubi dubium ibi libertas”