Some say that there has always been violence, we just didn’t talk about it as much. Now we have become more humane and less tolerant of violent behavior, so we talk about it more. Others say that there has never been as much violence as there is today.
The fact is that violence has existed since the beginning of mankind. In times when human consciousness was focused on survival, aggressive behavior was useful in defense and attack because the more combative and stronger ones survived. Sometimes violence was a result of fear of differences, misunderstanding of other worldviews or cultures. On a global scale, throughout human history, there has not been a time when there was no war being fought and when violence was not used to gain some advantage. Indeed, there has always been violence stemming from wrong beliefs, feelings of threat, and greed for what belongs to others.
However, what makes our time different and frightening is the escalation of violence in which anyone can become a victim of senseless, meaningless violence that is only driven by destructiveness. decades ago, we could peacefully walk through the cities without fear of being maimed or killed just because someone was bored. Even back then, boredom existed, but nobody thought of beating up an innocent passerby as a cure for boredom. There was no need to label schools with visible signs as zero-tolerance zones for violence. It was understood that such tolerance did not exist, and those who would break this unwritten rule would be marked as bad and problematic, rejected by the non-violent majority. We would go to football stadiums and passionately cheer for our team, but there was no need for a law on supporters to protect real football fans or stadium equipment from violent mobs. Even in street gang fights, there used to be some code of conduct and a sense of honor, so it was considered cowardly to beat up someone weaker or someone lying on the ground. Courage was valued, not cruelty. For decades, it was unthinkable for an adolescent to come to school and shoot at students and teachers with the intention to kill.
Today, all of this exists. Psychologists, psychiatrists, sociologists present their expert opinions and try to explain the reasons, but it seems that they are also taken aback by the escalation of senseless cruelty. The fact that some young person has developed a personality that is completely insensitive to the suffering of others and finds pleasure or relief in beating and killing other people does not explain anything. The question is not what kind of a young bully he is, but why he became like that? Why are there more and more young people who are controlled by destructive emotions, who are engrossed in violent ideologies, who find their self-esteem and sense of worth in raw physical force?
THE BEHAVIOR OF YOUNG PEOPLE REFLECTS THE CULTURE THEY LIVE IN
At the beginning of the last century, the famous ethnologist and psychologist Margaret Mead, studying the behavior of young people in three Polynesian tribes, stated that the adolescent crisis There is no equivalent in cultures where, in the form of an initiation ritual, there is a clear transition from childhood to adulthood. Every young person knew what was expected of them, what qualities they had to express, and how to behave in order to be accepted into the adult world. As long as they couldn’t do that, the community considered them to be children and treated them accordingly. In an organized society, no matter how primitive it may be according to our standards, if there is a clear value system and everyone has their place and role, a young person enters the adult world without major crises.
The behavior of young people is a reflection of the culture in which they develop. The adolescent crisis, characterized by rebellion, resistance to authority and prevailing values, is a characteristic of modern civilization. Young people are no longer sure about the values of adults because adults themselves only superficially represent them. To interpret to someone that they should help others, be honest, or achieve success through effort and hard work, while observing a world where None of this is truly appreciated, it’s not just hypocritical, but also pointless. If young people are not given clear criteria of values, if they are not given clear goals they must achieve in order to gain society’s respect, if adults are not role models in achieving those goals and living those values, then a crisis, aimlessness, and emptiness emerge.
However, the violence of our time is no longer just a result of adolescent crisis in which the values of the adult world are questioned. It is a result of the complete absence of truly valuable goals. Our culture has become a culture of primitivism and loss of human dignity in which everything can be bought and sold for money, a culture in which passions and instincts are catered to and arguments for why it is not good are not found. Contents that educate and enrich people have become so rare that the average person has lost the ability to appreciate and understand them. And then, under the pretext of “people demand it”, from newspapers, magazines, television… we are overwhelmed by content that panders to the lowest human instincts. Do we really expect young people to navigate in such a culture, turn off the television, look away from magazines, break away from banality, vulgarity, and cruelty, and find within themselves the guidance towards nobility, compassion, and human virtue?
FORGOTTEN MORALITY
When a wealthy businessman who was selling water at a high price to a poor African country was asked if what he was doing was morally right, he responded with a counter-question – “what is morality?” – and continued to discuss the ethical principles of business that his company strictly adheres to.
Today, the concept of morality has been so relativized and devalued that one truly wonders what purpose morality serves and why one should be moral. On the other hand, religions and traditional philosophical teachings emphasize the great importance of morality, both for the individual and for the community in which they live. Morality and moral behavior, as visible manifestations of possessing human virtues, have always played a significant role in shaping societies and maintaining a sense of collective ethics. The reflection is the harmony of a person with themselves and the prerequisites for harmonious interpersonal relationships.
In ancient Egypt, moral behavior was an indicator of a person’s harmony with divine law. Preserved texts speak of ancient Egyptian perceptions of morality:
“If you want to do good and free yourself from everything bad, beware of greed, which is an incurable disease.”
“Setting obstacles to (divine) Law is opening the door to violence.”
“Do not inflict pain on others if you do not want God to inflict pain on you. For if anyone embarks on the path of violence to gain wealth for themselves, God will deny them bread from their mouths. If they do this to oppress others, do not doubt that God will eventually render them powerless. Do not create pain among those who are similar to you, for that is not the divine will.”
On the other side of the world, in China, Confucius says that morality brings order to a person, and moral behavior reflects the rule of the best in them, their mind that recognizes the heavenly order and harmony. Harmonious relationships among people are a consequence of According to Confucius, immoral behavior is a consequence of ignorance and misunderstanding, and that is why people should be taught virtue and raised to moral behavior.
Socrates claimed that everyone has an equal inclination towards good and that no one intentionally makes mistakes. However, people still do evil because they lack knowledge, and that is why everyone needs education, practice, and upbringing.
Plato states that virtue reflects the health of the soul. The soul has three parts: the instinctual part that takes care of the body’s needs, the emotional part through which emotions speak, and the intellectual part that alone can see the truth and therefore needs to decide and govern human behavior. If each part of the soul performs its task, the soul is healthy, and we recognize virtue in a person’s actions. The problem arises when a person thinks with emotions and decides based on instincts, causing disorder in their soul. However, virtue can be learned and then becomes visible in behavior.
Today, these thoughts may sound outdated. Who still thinks about what thinkers like Confucius, Socrates, and Plato said centuries ago? However, their ideas are still relevant in terms of promoting personal morality and inner harmony. and people a few thousand years ago, who still reads Confucius or Plato, who even reads anything at all? The modern man thinks about the health of his body, not his soul. He thinks about how to acquire more money and what to buy with it, not about virtue and the importance of morality. The modern man doesn’t have time to think about such impractical, distant, forgotten topics.
So why are we then surprised by the violence of our time? We forget that a man doesn’t become a human being simply by being born, he only gains a human body. Human qualities are acquired through upbringing and education.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY
Human nature is capable of magnificent deeds, but also of the most horrifying things, as the violence of our time increasingly shows us. The moral disorientation of our civilization and culture encourages the expression of a person’s instinctive and animal nature. However, moral decay is not just characteristic of our civilization. Every civilization has had its ups and downs. During the decadence of Egypt and the breakdown of value systems, E The Egyptians left us with this description of their Egypt as a warning:
“I have seen this land immersed in pain and suffering. Now, those who would have never succeeded, do. Weapons are being raised for battle because the country lives in chaos. Copper spears are being made to obtain bread with blood. Smiling faces are corrupted. Everyone attacks each other. I show you a son transformed into your enemy, a brother turned into a rival. A man kills his own father. Hatred reigns among nations and cities. Words are like flames to the heart, and it cannot support anything that any mouth says. The state is becoming less valuable, and its rulers are increasing in numbers. The sun hides from people.”
“To whom shall I speak now? Hearts are cruel, everyone seizes the goods of their brother. To whom shall I speak now? A man who angers you with his evil is celebrated worldwide, his infamy is concealed. To whom shall I speak now?”
Crisis and violence have always existed and will continue to exist, but what is important is that a person finds the strength to thrive even in such times. to preserve faith in true values, so that dormant humanity may one day awaken again. History offers us countless examples of brave, noble, and wise individuals who have shown us with their own lives how to live a life worthy of a human being. And even today, there are those who demonstrate that kindness and human virtue still exist in this world. It is up to us to join them. Until we are ready to do so, we are also responsible for violence and the world in which it is possible.