ExposedNYC

I have a hard time believing that we’re an evolved society when everywhere I turn I see people resorting to threats and violence to solve problems. I consider myself lucky to have been raised in a calm, peaceful environment, and I’m honestly frightened by the amount of rage we are surrounded with today.

I’ll start small and mindless- this season on The Real World Denver, each week seems marked by who is going to get drunk and blow up about something. Whether it’s racial slurs, or supposed loyalty to someone you barely know, it doesn’t seem to take much to set off any of these characters. Sure, these guys were probably picked to create conflict, but if this experiment represents a generation, our future is in turmoil.

Then, there was the ejection of all ten players on the court after a brawl broke out during the Knicks-Nuggets game this weekend. It’s one thing when tensions are running high in a close game, but this looked like a flagrant release of frustration at losing. The claims of “loyalty” that teammates were just defending each other’s honor make me nauseous.

Is it no surprise that we live in a world at war? Where we are so desensitized to violence that a campaign to draw attention to atrocities in Darfur seems less than urgent? Where the number of casualties in Iraq grow daily in a war claiming aims of freedom and democracy?

I’m tired of living in a world of bullies. I truly believe in the cliché that it takes a stronger person to walk away from a fight than to start one. I would prefer to be called a wimp than over-aggressive or tough. I worry that not many people agree with me.

In a time full of “tough on terror” and “tough love”, I miss the softer, stronger side. I love the security in a good hug on a daily basis. I love someone with the control to have a heated debate without screaming or hitting things. I love the idea that when all else fails, violence does NOT have to be our last resort. I hope that our world will show me that it agrees.

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