Violence is, in fact, a part of the human condition. It has been in our history and nature for as long as history has been recorded. As we, as a species, continue to grow, evolve, and mature, violence has only become a more pronounced quality of human beings. We use violence and force to ensure that we obtain the goals and possessions we desire. We use violence and force to feel superior, or more capable, than others. The human history is a history of war. Every era in the life of the human race has had incidents of war, violence, and force. Enough examples of this exist that one has no trouble believing that violence is a part of human nature and the human condition. We have come to be used to it, now it is time we accept it because we certainly can’t change it.
Since the beginning of time humans have used violence as a means of furthering their race and ensuring their survival. The phrase “survival of the fittest” could often be easily substituted with “survival of the strongest.” It is the strongest, those capable of putting forth the most force, that succeed the most frequently in becoming rulers, leaders, and often imperialists that take control of entire societies and cultures. Even when limited to the history of the United States instead of the entire world, violence still plays a large part in the story of how our country and society came to be where they are today.
The first settlers used violence and force in an attempt to control, and possibly eliminate, the Natives. They forced the people who had already made homes for their families and tribes into slavery and a brutal way of life. The Native Americans suffered from physical abuse that ultimately became too much for them to fight off and were turned into a minority in their own homeland.
Before those settlers overthrew the Natives, the Natives would occasionally fight amongst themselves. This is something these people have always known, even falling back on for centuries. For a group of people to have traveled the Bering Strait to reach the Americas, there would have been violence of physical and mental capacities. Before tribes came to peaceful agreements, there were wars. Battles destroyed entire villages and the tribes succumbed to their opposers. There is record of leaders sacrificing animals and even their own family members in the name of faith.
War is the result of a people in want of something another people have and do not want to share. As children, we are often scolded for not wanting to share and many children aren’t opposed to resorting to hitting, kicking and throwing temper tantrums to avoid sharing a toy they don’t have any interest in. It is instinct to protect what is ours and want anything that is “up for grabs.” As we grow older, we continue this behavior, sometimes in a subtle way. In many occurrences, we relish the feeling of overpowering those that don’t fight back or cannot seem to overthrow our words or actions. Other times, we believe that what we are doing is the right thing. To help others understand or accept our ideas, we may have to use force. Because we live in a “survival of the fittest” mindset, we understand that we must do whatever it may take to survive, even as a whole.
The first war was recorded around 3000 B.C.E. and it’s safe to say that there had been wars before that. One could say the world was simple then, that of the child protecting his toys, though the focus was protecting food from other hunters. There is evidence of cannibalism occurring as far back as 8,000 years ago (Pinker). Human bones have been found cut up the same way these civilizations cut up the animals they hunted. This suggests that man has been killing and disposing of those weaker and less capable for longer than our race’s recorded history. Man has always been a hunter competing with animals that are better equipped with speed so it makes sense that violence has been the most basic form of survival. Throughout time, violence has been fine tuned and implemented in sophisticated aspects of life.
It could be said that all religions implement violence in some form. Many societies bond people by faith. Ancient religions have shown principal practices include sacrifice, whether it be scarifying a lamb or a virgin daughter. Religions have one thing in common, for sure, and that is fighting for your god or gods and faith no matter what it takes. This has often led to wars amongst different beliefs and even between followers of the same faith. Take, for example, the Protestants and Catholics in Ireland, although they are both followers of the Christian faith, their difference in denomination has caused generations of strife and violence among them.
Over the history of man many wars based on religion have been seen. Thousands of men, if not more, have lost their lives fighting over their religious beliefs. Whether it was because they wanted to convince another group of people to convert to their religion or simply because they felt that members of religions besides their own were not worthy of peace, people have always come up with reasons to fight in “holy wars.” These violent acts, justified in the eyes of the offenders, have continued to plague humanity from the earliest parts of civilization until now. Even today, in many societies, people are harassed, hazed, tortured, and sometimes killed solely because their religion doesn’t agree with someone else’s.
Politics and government, too, have been a great cause of violence over time. People often believe as strongly in their political opinions as they do in their religious views. Often times, a group will believe their government is superior enough to another that they can take over an entire culture. Many wars have been seen that could’ve been spared had man not wanted to expand their government’s power. This has to do with one culture believing they are superior to another, but also the inherent need to possess as much as possible. For as long as the human race has been civilized, civilizations have been judged based on how much territory they have and how powerful their ruler is. Political leaders such as Alexander the Great and Napoleon will probably be remembered for all of time solely because of their use of force and violence. They both created wars and took lives in order to be known around the world as the best leaders and most powerful adversaries.
In history, through all eras, people have noticed the link between strength and rulers. During the Enlightenment several writers took note of the power of force, and strength of leaders, and the ability of leaders to turn strength into ruling power. In Chapter III of The Social Contract Jean Jacques Rousseau notes “The strongest is never strong enough to be always the master, unless he transforms strength into right, and obedience into duty. Hence the right of the strongest, which, though to all seeming meant ironically, is really laid down as a fundamental principle” (Rousseau). Although Rousseau continues to argue against the right of the strongest to take rule, since he believes all power comes from God, it is still obvious through this passage that even in 1732, men were aware of the power of the strongest and the power of force. It was obviously a norm then, as it is now, to use force to create power.
Since violence has become such a large base in these parts of life, it has become even easier for violence to become a part of day to day life. It is normal for people to talk down to one another, make jokes at one another’s expense, and to constantly feel the need to have more than others, or to have things just because others have them. These instincts all seem to stem from our innate violence. And if we weren’t all guilty of these simple acts of interpersonal violence human violence would still be emphasized by the media, the government, and individuals.
New outlets, such as televised news, newspapers, magazines, radio news, and more are constantly running news stories based on violence. Murder, rape, assault, kidnapping, robbery, and war are reported on a daily basis in every community around the country and around the world. Popular culture such as movies, video games, television, and more use violence as a means of entertainment. If violence was not in our nature, we could not find entertainment value in watching violence unfold before our eyes, regardless if it is fictional. While these will portray violence as negative and point out the disappointment so many feel when they heard of violence occurring in their home town or especially when it happens to them personally, historically violence has been glorified.
It’s no wonder that people continue to live in “survival of the fittest” mind states when for so long, violence was acceptable and even sometimes heroic. Take for example “outlaws” in the “Old West.” These men were portrayed as heroes of their time both in media portrayals, such as movies and novels, and in historical representations (Barak). Today popular actors play violent roles in films and television and are praised for their roles. Writers and directors of these productions receive praise and awards for coming up with the material, for continuing to make violence an acceptable norm in our culture.
Even in The Declaration of Independence written in 1776, Thomas Jefferson mentions war twice. In the document that was drafted to secure us our independence as a country and our freedom as a people, it was felt necessary to bring up violence. The country could not be founded without the mention of it, though, because it is such a large part of our history. Without violence, this country would probably not have ever received its freedom from England.
When discussing the Native Americans who were here when the settlers came, Jefferson states (in listing the offenses of the King that justify the United States receiving it’s freedom from him) “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions” (Jefferson). Jefferson and his associates cite the “known rule of warfare” by the Native Americans, but fail to mention the settlers’ path of destruction in trying to assure that they would be the highest ruling class in the country.
Then as Jefferson is discussing the new country’s relationship with the King and England, he discusses how the two countries can be friends in peace, but enemies in war. War is necessary. War is required in order to gain independence from the King. “We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt out connections and correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the necessity which denounces our separation, and hold the, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends” (Jefferson).
Clearly, violence has been a part of human nature and the human condition for centuries, for longer than recorded history. It was a part of the Natives coming to the North America. It was a part of prehistoric civilizations. It was a part of settlers coming to this country and others around the world. It has continued to be a part of the daily life of humans from prehistoric times until current times. Violence will continue to be a part of the day to day lives of human beings because it is a part of the human condition. It is something most of us have come to accept and something that will never end. It may not always be as glorified and glamorized as it may have been in the past, but it will still never disappear.
Works Cited
Barak, Gregg. Violence and Nonviolence: Pathways to Understanding. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2003.
Jefferson, Thomas. The Declaration of Independence. 1776.
Pinker, Steven. The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature. London: Penguin, 2002.
Rousseau, Jean Jacques. The Social Contract. 1763.
