Pacifists believe that war and violence of any kind should be unacceptable and that this nation should never be at war. They believe that negotiation and compromise as a way to achieve peace and harmony is a better way to solve conflicts rather than violence. People who are not committed to pacifism sometimes think that the best way to solve a failure of foreign policy is to go war. At times, military intervention is necessary, especially when the target is a person or a nation that threatens the welfare and livelihood of millions of people. It’s also understandable if military action is in self-defense of an imminent threat of our nation. But when you tackle the issue of pacifism as a whole, it is very difficult to decide whether it is strictly …show more content…
“Pacifists hold that war is wrong because killing is wrong.” This is understandable. War and violence should not be an excuse for conflicts. Negotiating problems could be more helpful than violence and war. Negotiating would be more effective than war because it will help prevent the situation from getting worse and will help find a solution to the problem or issue. Talking to the enemy would shock them, since they would be expecting for us to fight back. Instead of returning with ruthless violence they have towards us, this nation should maintain its superior position and meet them with acts of kindness and gentle words “Negotiation, mediation, diplomacy—these would be the means of settling international disputes, not the sacrifice of human …show more content…
He persuaded people to peacefully protest against the Vietnam War. John and his wife, Yoko Ono both held bed-ins where they stayed in their hotel room in Amsterdam for several days asking for world peace. In his second bed-in, they stayed in their room and John recorded "Give Peace a Chance" “His song "Give Peace a Chance" remains an anthem for the anti-war movement – and probably always will.” On Vietnam Moratorium Day thousand of people arrived and started to sing his song "Give Peace a Chance". John Lennon taught many people to stand up and peacefully fight for what pacifists believe in. He protested for peace, and became a symbol of how pacifism can be
where I grew up, I rarely thought of pacifism as meaning that you didn't fight; I ...
¬¬¬Though most American people claim to seek peace, the United States remains entwined with both love and hate for violence. Regardless of background or personal beliefs, the vast majority of Americans enjoy at least one activity that promotes violence whether it be professional fighting or simply playing gory video games. Everything is all well and good until this obsession with violence causes increased frequency of real world crimes. In the article, “Is American Nonviolence Possible” Todd May proposes a less standard, more ethical, fix to the problem at hand. The majority of the arguments brought up make an appeal to the pathos of the reader with a very philosophical overall tone.
...able to showcase the great power that nonviolence could have on the world and how by using methods such as that one would be more successful than if one used violence. As Mahatma Gandhi once said “Non-violence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.”
In the novel, My Brother Sam is Dead, by James and Christopher Collier, they teach that there are many other ways to solve conflict besides war. War is violent, disgusting, and gruesome and so many people die in war. Families separate in war because of how many people want to be in the thrill of the war and also how many innocent family members die in the midst of war. Lastly, war is worthless and it was caused by a disagreement over something little and the outcome of war is not worth the many lives, time, and money and there are other ways to solve conflict besides to fight. War causes so many negative outcomes on this world that it needs to be avoided at all costs.
“Non-violence is a powerful and just weapon without cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
War is a hard thing to describe. It has benefits that can only be reaped through its respective means. Means that, while necessary, are harsh and unforgiving. William James, the author of “The Moral Equivalent of War”, speaks only of the benefits to be had and not of the horrors and sacrifices found in the turbulent times of war. James bears the title of a pacifist, but he heralds war as a necessity for society to exist. In the end of his article, James presents a “war against nature” that would, in his opinion, stand in war’s stead in bringing the proper characteristics to our people. However, my stance is that of opposition to James and his views. I believe that war, while beneficial in various ways, is unnecessary and should be avoided at all costs.
Mohandas Gandhi and Mao Zedong were two great leaders who succeeded in many ways by their actions and decisions. Gandhi was an Indian leader and Mao a Chinese leader. However, their approach to success, peace, and ultimately, a revolution, was very different. Mao favored peace through violence, and Gandhi favored peace through non-cooperation and standing up for what is right. He also believed that these changes will be accomplished by “conscious suffering”, was the way he put it. However, despite their differences, these two leaders were similar too. They were both very charismatic leaders who successfully made it through their revolutions. Mao’s revolution led to change in class structure while Gandhi’s revolution involved India as a country, and he wanted people to realize that working together is a great way to gain independence. While Mao and Gandhi both believed that each of their countries have the need of independence, their views differed when it came to the use of violence, development towards the revolution, and their thoughts on a caste system.
As a pacifist, I disagree with all wars in theory. I am realistic enough to comprehend that conflict is sometimes unavoidable because, of specific circumstances, understanding and accepting are two very isolated ideas. I hold on to the optimistic perspective that situations can be resolved peacefully as long as all parties are willing to contribute to a peaceful outcome. On a more personal level, my resistance towards war also stems from family members and friends who are and have
...fists can be uneffective in a war minded society. If an aggressor is attacking with no opposition, one cannot rely on the morality of the aggressors to halt the attack. Intervention of the attacks would be impermissible by the standards of absolute pacifism, as it would contribute to the overall amount of violence. The absolute pacifist would become a martyr for their beliefs, and without opposing the aggressive force societies would be annihilated. I believe while pacifism is morally better than war in terms of the amount of violence projected, and diplomatic negotiation should be the main solution to world issues, it is a commonality of society that war can potentially be the quickest solution to stop an aggressor. Although the notion of a Just War is unattainable, the causes of war as described in the theory set a standard for global leaders to promote justice.
Works Consulted Clark, Mark. A. A. The Paradox of War and Pacifism. ULeadership.com -. 7 Oct 2002. <www.leaderu.com/socialsciences/clark.html> Holmes, Robert. A. A. On War and Morality.
Extreme pacifists have a strict discipline they follow that does not condone war for any reason and believes and advocates peace. Extreme pacifists live a way of life that is strict and adherent to these guidelines to which causes its followers to not be able to participate in many functions or organizations that can result or advocate violence. I don’t necessarily agree with this view and would not find it realistic enough to be able to apply it in our society today. It’s an admirable quality to which extreme pacifists religiously hold and abide by but it appears to me to be to idealistic and not easily attainable in our society, at least that’s the way I see it. The concept of “just war” began with Augustine, and in his own way to rationalize and clarify what he believed outlined a war to be considered just. Augustine was able to outline and categorize just war into jus in bellum, “the necessary …conditions for justifying engagement in war” and jus in bello “the necessary conditions for conducting war in a just manner.” The final stage, jus pos bellum, “…seeks to regulate the ending of wars, and to ease the transition from war back to peace.”
...oal of such violence is to obtain a greater moral good. But antiwar pacifists maintain that the ends do not justify the means, if the means are murderous. It is a tragic mistake to believe that there are great moral goods that can only be claimed by war and the amount of moral good obtained by war is often greatly exaggerated and inequitable.
First, war is universal due to its violent nature, violence in its application knows no bounds, and it is the common factor that identifies the war and without it the war is nothing more than a diplomatic effort to reach the end. However, wars blow out only when the diplomacy fails. Violence is the war engine. Although the application of violence evolved through time and its severity varies according to communities, cultures, and the means and methods used. Demonstrating the violence through the application of force to subjugate the enemy is the central idea of war. “War is a clash between major interests,
The year was 1986 and the people of the Philippines were being oppressed by their elected president turned Dictator Ferdinand Marcos for twenty years. And a four-day series of non-violent mass demonstrations toppled Marcos dictatorship. It was a series of popular non violent revolutions and prayerful mass street demonstrations in the Philippines that occurred in 1986, which marked the restoration of the country's democracy. Non violent resistance is the best method to peacefully attain social change in times of political oppression. Non violent resistance is just one teaching of Mahatma Gandhi that was used by the people of Philippine in their times of political oppression and is evident throughout the Philippine revolution of 1986 which helped the country restore democracy.
Gandhi was a great man in a lot of ways he was born on October 2, 1869 in Western India. At the age of thirteen he married Kasturbi who was also thirteen before his father died. When he did his mother sent him to law school in England this was in 1888. While he was there he fell in love so to speak with the nonviolent ways of the Hindu scriptures of the Bhagavad-Gita, and in the bible tellings of Jesus.