The Power of One, a movie set in mid-20th century South Africa.
The Rape of Nanking, a novel by Iris Chang.
What do all of these have in common?
They have changed my heart. Dona Nobis and The Rape of Nanking have given me the conviction that the horrors of war can never be justified. The Power of One and The Rape of Nanking have cut through the layers of callousness towards violence I've built up over the years and pierced me to the core.
That, I think, is the point. Throughout my life I've been constantly bombarded with images of gruesome violence. Up until now, I had prided myself on being able to sit nonplussed through all sorts of unspeakable gore. After performing Dona Nobis Pacem (translation: Grant us peace), I began examining my views on violence. By the time I finished The Rape of Nanking, I was torn between the overwhelming desire to cry and the urge to vomit. What struck me most was that it had actually happened.
For all that America claims to be an international police force, an awful lot of horrifying events go ignored. Did the Japanese have to pay reparations to the Chinese like the Germans did to the Jews? No, because America wanted to trade with Japan. Hundreds of thousands of people, raped and murdered in the most atrocious ways possible, have been systematically erased from history. In my history textbook last year, I think the Rape of Nanking was given a paragraph at most. In Japan, it's not mentioned at all.
The Power of One was just as bad. Watching it in AP English was almost painful. I had to close or avert my eyes for a good deal of time because I just could not take the violence. During the 3 class periods it took to finish the film, I continually asked myself how humans could act that way to one another. Knowing that it was fiction was no help--it was based on fact. If men can perpetrate such acts of cruelty, what then remains of them to classify them as human?
I found myself wondering what the appeal of violence was, time and time again. The only way I can think to justify it is in self-defense. Of course, I'm a seventeen-year-old girl. Thinking more abstractly, I postulated that for thousands of years, aggression has essentially been idolized as the epitome of masculinity. "Men" (manly men) aren't supposed to be sensitive. Tenderness is seen as weakness.
Society is so messed up. It makes me think of a card in one of my Policy kritiks (it's a debate thing): the terminal impact of masculinist patriarchy is nuclear holocaust. Which brings me back to Dona Nobis Pacem. I no longer believe that war can fix anything. There has to be a better way to solve a conflict than killing people. We are humans, and such wanton destruction ought to be beneath us. We are supposed to be the rational, moral beings in our universe.
To close, here's my favorite line from that masterpiece. I hope this post has had some meaning--it was definitely cathartic for me.
- and ever again, this soiled world.
Another movie that stuck to me for these reasons was the movie Radio. Rational moral beings are what we strive to become. We can all obtain this state of mind,but the individuals in the human race must work to achieve this. The greatest and wisest of our race know that violence can never be the long-term answer. Unfortunately, our world is often governed by the people that use this awful violence and force to gain power. Opposition in all things. The natural man is an enemy to God. All humans are created with imperfections and potential trials. Our calling is to overcome these hiccups and burdens and become better. Through the refiners fire.
ReplyDeleteHumans are imperfect, emotional beings and are definitely not governed by rational thought. Especially teenagers.
Hopefully I didn't detract from your amazing post. I just wanted to explain my feelings. They probably weren't very rational. Very imperfect. But that is why they are feelings.
:)I just commented on your blog. Thankyouverymuch.
P.S.
Sorry if I used too many religious references. I just love quoting that book.