Violence Stage Five: Weighing Up All Sides of the Argument

1330: 

Edited by CJ Tointon

Differences of opinion are healthy, but we need discussion not war to resolve difficult issues.  Any use of force might bring quicker results but it destroys the process of arriving at permanent resolutions.  Because we can be so easily fooled by the seductive powers of the material world, we have to be aware of the classic traps.  Specifically.  The Earth hides useful materials just under the surface.  We discover them, rip them out, use them.  But soon enough, their promise turns to dust.  What we once wanted so badly is no longer wanted and we discard it into landfill, which then poisons the earth.  And likewise, the bonanza of food builds a strong body and mind.  But if we source our 'food' from animals by violent domination, we destroy our very souls in the process.   Likewise, the male-dominated world can only go so far before it implodes.  Now (when it's almost too late) we need the healing touch of our companions, previously downtrodden women, to help resolve things.  The defining attitude that makes use of violence and once seemed to promise everything, will betray us in the end.

What seems natural enough on this planet - predation - has been 'refined' by humans to the point where our food victims are no longer hunted but imprisoned and kept 'on tap' for use when needed.  Our carnivorous instinct ends up just being enslavement, cruelty and waste.  As our species nears self-destruction, we're faced with hard choices that need radical solutions.  The threat of climate change is forcing us to cut back on our waste.  Our corrupted ethics are forcing us to face the cruelty of our nature.  We're finally being brought towards the imperative of living herbivorous lives in a state of non-violence.

Intellectually, we can see the solution to the problems we've caused.  Once we've restored control over our own lives, we can put these solutions into practice, adopt a new ethic and leave behind the old ways of using force and violence.  By replacing the old methods with those of sustainability, cooperation, generosity and kindness, we can start to effect change.  Only then will we be able to move on.