By Amanda Tennant, staff writer
In recent months, the world has experienced multiple tragedies such as the San Bernardino shooting and the Paris terrorist attack. As a result, people across the world have become dismayed and perplexed as to how such gruesome atrocities have been committed. One side reasons that the tragedies resulted from rising conflicts and instability in the world. Others condemn governments and leaders for their inaction towards preventing such violence. However, for some, the blame for these misfortunes rests in humanity itself. They say that human nature is naturally corrupt and violent. It is because of this true nature that shootings and terrorist attacks happen. Yet, in the midst of all this negativity, there is one group that contradicts this assertion and presents a different perspective on humanity. The peaceful majority.
The peaceful majority accounts for about 6.8 billion people. The peaceful majority have lived their lives without killing anybody. Probably even a good chunk has never even fired a gun. The peaceful majority wakes up every morning, says hello to their families, goes to work or school, comes home, has dinner, and generally lives in harmony with their neighbors and community. They might get a speeding ticket here or there, but for the most part they obey the laws. Sometimes they may do petty things like gossip behind someone’s back, but they aren’t violent and don’t cause complete and utter conflict. The peaceful majority is just that. They are ordinary people who are just trying to live their lives. Yet, it is popular to base the worth and morality of 7 billion people, including the peaceful majority, on the actions of 20 million people who commit wrongdoings. Humanity is evil because the bad choices of a few somehow reflect the actions of an entire population.
I am not saying that every single person is perfect. Nobody is perfect. We all have our own flaws and hostilities that we carry around, whether it be selfishness, pettiness or cruelty. However, with our faults comes our virtues. We all love and care about each other in some way. We all hope and believe in our dreams. Mostly importantly, we all just want to live in peace without fear.
If one person can destroy, harm, and cause fear, then another person can love, heal, and promote celebration. We should not let the misdeeds of a few define humanity and the world as a whole.
The only reason why terrorist and tyrants rise is because of fear. They try to feed our anxieties and hidden disparities so that irrational thoughts will consume us whole. However, fear tactics are useless in the face of a peaceful people because fear is only effective for a moment in time while harmony can last a lifetime.
We need to put aside our differences and unite as the peaceful majority and let ourselves define the type of world we live in. Terrorists and tyrants may threaten us, but we must remember that we are stronger together.