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Is Violence Ever Justified?

 

            The debate between pacifism and use of violence is a subject that is much discussed. Pacifism is the opposition to the use of force under any circumstances. When one broaches this issue, one is confronted with questions like practicality versus morality, and the comparison of lives lost in war with the liberty or values lost by avoiding war. .
             Pacifists believe that violence is not justified under any circumstances. Life is sacrosanct, and no values or beliefs allow you to take the life of another. However, when someone is using violence to encroach upon another person's rights, or to take other lives, it is hard to advocate complete abstinence from violence. One can argue that doing this would merely allow the rampant spread of evil in the world. .
             There rarely emerges a victor from war. Both sides end up suffering, and issues are often left unsettled by war. The first world war, for example, led to the second world war, which left most of the world in devastation. Often the innocent suffer, like the people of Hiroshima, when the USA dropped the atomic bomb. However, there have been times when war helped to change things for the better. The Second World War prevented the spread of fascism through Europe. Had the Nazis not been resisted by violence, we might now be living in a Nazi world. The Gulf War also served a purpose - it led to Saddam Hussein's withdrawal from Kuwait. In these cases, had there been no action, millions of people would have been oppressed, and the "bad people" would triumph.
             To contradict this, there are arguments that pacifism can solve most issues. Pacifists do not accept things the way they are, or run away from affairs. They simply believe that violence begets violence. Mahatma Gandhi used a method that he called "Satyagraha" to further his pacifism. The ultimate goal of Satyagraha is winning the opponent over with love. Satyagrahis make their point by suffering. They know that they might be physically harmed, perhaps even killed, but do not retaliate against their opponents.


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