I have been twisting his arm to return and write the blog for me guest post. Today is the culmination of all my
After reading this very informative and historically accurate piece on the history of violence, head on over to his blog, The Greatest Blog of All Time.
--
A History of Violence
Humanity has long been a violent group. Since the beginning of time, fights and wars have just been a part of life. One thing that has changed over the years, however, is the use of violence as a problem solving tool.It used to be very common. For example, it wasn’t strange at all for medieval knights to brawl to determine who was correct in a situation. There were no lengthy debates or voting processes in these circumstances. Just a fight, and whoever won was considered just. People didn’t question it.
Another fine example is the Roman Gladiatorial games. Today, these are looked at as being horrible and brutal, but back then, they served a great purpose. They were a release of the natural violent tendencies of the spectators, so they wouldn’t be violent themselves. This way, the Roman people were able to fully focus on such great things as paving roads, despising the lower classes, and abandoning any moral code they were supposed to follow.
It was a simple system, much different than today. But like any system people have ever created, it had flaws.
For example, people would use violence to deal with things they didn’t understand. The 15th-18th centuries were full of these examples, as everybody fell in love with a good old-fashioned witch hunt. Basically, if things seemed strange about somebody, they were labeled as a witch and burned or drowned. Sometimes both!
 |
| "She turned me into a newt! I got better." |
While certainly not a system to be celebrated, it did also serve as a wonderful tool for removing raving lunatics. Today, because killing isn’t as legal as it used to be, all raving lunatics end up holding public office.
America hasn’t always looked down on the art of the problem-solving kill. Duels were still fairly common practice in the early years of this country. In fact, some of the most famous duelists were leaders, such as Andrew Jackson. A Jackson duel was about as common as lunch for us. In fact, he had been shot so many times, it was said he rattled like a bag of marbles due to the bullets rolling around in his body.You may ask: but where exactly did all these duels get him? Simple: the Presidency.
Do you see how this works? Years ago, with a simple problem-solving kill, people who weren’t worthy of authority were taken care of. A well placed duel could simplify things. Alexander Hamilton didn’t think Aaron Burr would be a good President, so he and Burr dueled. Burr won, but by then, everyone in the nation agreed that Burr was a tool, so they didn’t elect him. As a thank you, they slapped Hamilton’s face on the ten dollar bill.
No debates. No lengthy primaries. Just a simple duel, and suddenly, the Presidential race made total sense to everyone.
Is this amount of everyday violence necessarily justified? No. Of course not. But it does have a role to play. For example, without some sort of competition, like the Gladiatorial games, we end up having to channel violence in other areas. It’s why we pay people millions of dollars to toss a ball around. It’s the closest thing we have to paying people millions of dollars to chop each other in half.
Violence doesn’t have to be more frequent. But humanity can’t go any longer while ignoring the obvious problem-solving benefits it holds. Especially during an election year.
One thing is certain: with more control over raving lunatics, there would be less people in public office. And that has to be a good thing.
Are you pro-violence too?
Nathan Fillian voted Neo!
