Kiona-Benton City High School
Benton City, Washington
War and Peace Essay
Teacher:Dea Podhajsky
Destiny Petersen
Grade 12
War and Peace
Someone once said; "the thing that makes life so cruel is that everyone has such good reasons." This statement may hold more truth than any one statement
I've ever heard. To me this is saying that life tends to be hard because everyone has their own opinions and points of the utmost validity as to why they do things like they do.
The importance's of things differ from person to person according to how they have been brought up, what they've been taught, and what they've overcome. Whether it is sports, grades, or a family night out each person prioritizes differently, and there is no right or wrong it's the justification that lies within them to put first what they feel appropriate.
In history the writing of the Constitution had an abundance of problems being agreed upon by everyone (as the vote had to unanimous.) The slave issue was a huge setback. The representatives from the South did not see why slaves should be given the same rights as everyone else, and the Northern representatives didn't see why they shouldn't be given the same rights as everyone else. They argued back and for with conviction of the utmost and both sides of argument had real validity. They eventually came to a compromise and threw out the slavery issue. If they hadn't we may never have become the U S of A.
I've come across cruel reasoning many times. I above anything else put school. My grades are basically what I hang by. I'm naturally smart but I like to go the extra mile to impress whoever may help me along the way to success. I have a really close friend who is really family- oriented and she has been taught that family comes first. Looking at her family and their closeness I envy her. She is a cheerleader, and a class officer; she is very pretty and well liked. She is at most social event but when it comes to Monday night she makes few exceptions for her family. Monday nights she spends with her family regardless of a dance, a game, or a study group, she has family time. She has been taught the importance of family and has made others see her reasons. I come in on the cruel part. I have never had a "family" as I live in a foster home and had an extremely dysfunctional childhood so family isn't a high priority to me. When I stayed with my friend for an extended time, the truth of the quotation that the cruelty of life is that we all have good reasons became very apparent. On Monday nights for them it was family time. I, on the other hand, might have a report to do or an essay to write and to me that is reason enough to skip out on "Land Before Time" with my little brother. Arguments arose and discussions began. School to me is what is going to take me anywhere I want to go aside from my own ambitions. Family was just as important to them. Each reason is a completely valid argument to a completely valid point however like the saying goes to each their own. My belief that education is the key to my future success and therefore the most important priority was in direct conflict with my friend's belief that family was the most important. We both had good reasons but the resulting conflict was cruel. Eventually, I left the family. But have learned family is important and should be at or near the top of my list because it is a support group for the things I wish to do academically. It took a lot to understand but experiencing it first hand only made it more realistic. My friend also learned something. Before I was there she never really put school a priority and is struggling now with college applications and a low GPA but has improved in the past few semesters grade wise and also saw my point of view as to school ranking high along with social events, make-up and family. All in all it was a great learning experience for us both but it took a lot to make our points seen because we both had such conviction in the way we felt.
Everyone has reasons of their own for "things" of their own, and I believe as long as no on e is being hurt more power to them. If they can stand tall in their convictions even when it is against the majority or the odds they then become the people who put the "extra" in ordinary. Which brings me to the topic of Adolf Hitler.
Hitler was once quoted saying; "The one means that wins victory over reason: terror and force." To me this says, that Hitler felt the one way to a sure victory is to scare people to the point of breaking and then use all the force whatever it may be to get the easiest win. In the late 1920's Hitler rose to power making promise after promise to the German people about the success they had the potential to achieve. After painting a utopian world in their minds the he told them the only way to achieve them was through him.
He created jobs, building the autobahn, apartment buildings, cars, and reopening the army creating hundreds of thousands of jobs for so many people. He got poor people off the street for good, trade was at an all time high making dollar upon dollar and all the while sucking the German people into a ploy more than they surly bargained for. He gave them everything they thought they could never have.
Hitler has gone down in history as one of the greatest leaders of all time along with F.D.R., Abe Lincoln, and Napoleon. He spoke superbly and awestruck crowds of millions to absolute silence. He not only promised but also delivered. He was smart, clean cut, well postured, well mannered, and had the ability to speak and get through to people some say more than anyone in history or just running short of Jesus.
Hitler was forceful and scared many people, but it worked. Once he had each person, nation, and country right where he wanted then hi let his real plan show.
After all this "other side of the rainbow stuff" Hitler (as most history books portray him) came out. The power hungry, demon, dominating tyrant surfaced. Hitler's idea of a "perfect society" consisted of blonde haired blue eyed little children and no imperfections in between, and somehow he had his reasons for some odd reason his followers could find a way to justify it all.
After killing six million Jews by placing them in concentration camps and then ovens and then proceeding to kill millions more after starting a World War and asking his soldiers to die for his reasons and to kill anything in their way because he somehow felt they deserved this. And after watching the world fall apart at his doing Hitler goes down saying "the one means that wins the easiest victory over reason: terror/force." Was that a message we as world seemed to overlook? We were so busy justifying what he was doing for the German people we didn't look into his words for more than we reasoned them to be.
In front of God and everyone he stated this, and now the world knows just what he meant. Force and terror obviously work but when it in the context Hitler meant it, it changed the course of history and left the world in total heartbreak for many years to follow.
The Holocaust, Hitler, and WWII taught the word many valuable lessons but 15 million people, and 50 billion dollars is too high of a price to pay for anything.