Rockridge High School
Taylor Ridge, Illinois
Teacher: Mrs. Downey
By Jessica Youngs
12th Grade
Throughout the course of human existence one thing has been rooted into the human spirit. Evil. That evil is what made man fall from the Garden of Eden. It has made brothers kill one another over their so-called patriotic feelings. This evil has brought to this world, war. “Less than 8% of the time since the beginning of recorded time has the world been entirely at peace. In a total 3,530 years, 286 have been war less…” Unknown As the human race evolves, we are able to use our knowledge and love to fight the evil embedded into our souls. We know that war is wrong, but yet even with all this knowledge we still have war.
Some people have been able to control their primitive feelings. Knowledge and love have mastered their underlying sense of evil. Even though we have these peaceful people in this world, we still have war and hate because they are few and the minority. By having knowledge and love we should be able to become a peaceful race. Even though evil is rooted in our souls, someday we will be able to have peace.
Queen Eleanor of Acpuitane exclaimed the following monologue when she was finally fed up with her three sons arguing about trivial matters. This comes from the play that was made into a movie, Lion in the Winter0.. The Queen is talking about her own time, The Dark Ages, but it is relevant to our time:
Of course he has a knife. He always has a knife. We all have knives.
It’s 1183 and we’re all Barbarians; how clear we make it. Oh my piglets
we ARE the origins of war. Not history’s forces nor the times-nor any
other thing-We are the killers. We breed wars. We carry it like syphilis
inside dead bodies, rotting field and stream. Because the living ones
are rotten. Oh God can’t we love one another just a little. That’s how
peace begins. We have so much to love each other for. We have such
possibilities. We could change the world. “Lion in the Winter”
This quote refers to the evil of human beings. Queen Eleanor tries to teach her sons that we humans are what cause wars—not ideas, religions, or causes, but the human race. Even in the Dark Ages people realized the cause of war. This has been a fight that we have fought from the beginning of time. Love is how peace begins, as explained by Eleanor. If we just love one another, then the world will be changed for the better.
“By making yourself stronger and smarter and wiser, you can influence those around you to be-and this will have untold beneficial effect on the rest of the world.” Unknown This quote by an unknown author explains that by having knowledge we can conquer the hatred deep inside. By using the knowledge in a beneficial way toward mankind more people will learn this, and this knowledge will ripple out around the globe. We will be able to avoid wars in the future. Older generations will die off and the new generations will come into power with this knowledge and love as their weapons, instead of hatred, ignorance, and stupidity.
Mahatma Gandhi was a young lawyer from India who used his knowledge of the law and of life to make a difference in the world by bringing it peace. He was a champion in the fight against war. He tried to peacefully change the way of life for his people.
At one time Gandhi said, “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible but in the end, they always fall---Think of it, ALWAYS.” Mahatma Gandhi
All of the murderers and tyrants have been defeated by truth and love throughout history. Unfortunately though, truth and love did not stop the hatred at its source. We are beginning to win the fight against evil because love has always triumphed, but there is a long way to go. Only by showing other people our love and trust will we be able to shut out our dark hearts and walk in the way of peace. It is comforting to know that peace will always win, but it would be even better if peace could win from the beginning.
Mike Palecek, a writer for “The Weekender” out of Sioux City, Iowa, wrote: “…the world has changed dramatically. For Good or Evil? It’s up to us to determine.” Mike Palecek
After the terrorist attacks upon our nation, hatred and evil have once again risen to the front line. This shows us that even though we are living in the twenty first century and have an unlimited access to knowledge and information, we are still primitive beings who let our deepest feelings take charge of our lives. There are those out there who attack this hatred with love and compassion, but there are still those who retaliate with more hatred. Right now in this point of history maybe only war is the answer, but the revelation of peace is beginning to take over. Our nation banded together in trust and hope after September 11th. That has never happened before. Knowledge and love are beginning to surface in the human race.
As the world grows older and people learn more and more about themselves and love, the peaceful will become the majority. The evil people will become the minority at last. Until that time we will always have war. Evil cannot be controlled until we are able to control our thoughts and emotions in times of stress and fear. War, unfortunately, is inevitable for now, but some day we will have peace!
Bibliography
“Lion in the Winter.” On-line. Internet. 11 November. 2001. Available WWW:
“Mahatma Gandhi.” On-line. Internet. 11 November. 2001. Available WWW:
“Mike Palecek.” On-line. Internet. 11 November. 2001. Available WWW: