In some countries where racial prejudice is acute,
violence has so come to be taken for granted as a means of solving differences,
that it is not even questioned. There are countries where the white man imposes
his rule by brute force; there are countries where the black man protests by
setting fire to cities and by looting and pillaging. Important people on both
sides, who would in other respects appear to be reasonable men, get up and
calmly argue in favor of violence-as if it were a legitimate solution, like any
other. What is really frightening, what really fills you with despair, is the
realization that when it comes to the crunch, we have made no actual progress at
all. We may wear collars and ties instead of war-paint, but our instincts remain
basically unchanged. The whole of the recorded history of the human race, that
tedious documentation of violence, has taught us absolutely nothing. We have
still not learnt that violence never solves a problem but makes it more acute.
The sheer horror, the bloodshed, the suffering mean nothing. No solution
ever comes to light the morning after when we dismally contemplate the smoking
ruins and wonder what hit us.
The truly reasonable men who know
where the solutions lie are finding it harder and harder to get a hearing. They
are despised, mistrusted and even persecuted by their own kind because they
advocate such apparently outrageous things as law enforcement. If half the
energy that goes into violent acts were put to good use, if our efforts were
directed at cleaning up the slums and ghettos, at improving living-standards and
providing education and employment for all, we would have gone a long way to
arriving at a solution. Our strength is sapped by having to mop up the mess that
violence leaves in its wake. In a well-directed effort, it would not be
impossible to fulfill the ideals of a stable social program. The benefits that
can be derived from constructive solutions are everywhere apparent in the world
around us. Genuine and lasting solutions are always possible, providing we work
within the framework of the law.
Before we can even begin to
contemplate peaceful co-existence between the races, we must appreciate each
other’s problems. And to do this, we must learn about them., it is a simple
exercise in communication, in exchanging information. "Talk, talk, talk," the
advocates of violence say, "all you ever do is talk, and we are none the wiser.
" It’s rather like the story of the famous barrister who painstakingly explained
his case to the judge. After listening to a lengthy argument the judge
complained that after all this talk, he was none the wiser. "Possible, my lord,"
the barrister replied, "none the wiser, but surely far better informed. "
Knowledge is the necessary prerequisite to wisdom, the knowledge that violence
creates the evils it pretends to solve.What is the best title for this passage ______
