The Cycle of Violence

Violence breeds violence; and retaliation only fuels the cycle of violence. There is a point where violence is necessary, yes, but if it continues past its purpose, then it really hasn't served its purpose. To stop someone like Hitler, or to end something like genocide takes violence, but afterwards what is left? For a society so ravaged by hate and killing like Rwanda, to continue down that path would be its own destruction. The question is, how do we move on? 

I've been reading a memoir by a man from Rwanda--he fled the country before the genocide, but returned to help rebuild the country--and in his work post-genocide, he came into contact with the mayor of his town who was in one of the prisons Sebarenzi visited. The man was known to have been involved in instigating the killings, but denied it. Sebarenzi gave the man some money for food because he saw what deplorable conditions the prisoners were living in. He says:

It wasn't a heroic gesture. I wasn't trying to prove a point or demonstrate a holier-than-thou piety. In truth, I didn't really think about it at all. I saw another human being in need and offered help--nothing more, nothing less. I knew that regardless of what he had done, I had to help him. I knew that my behavior could not be dictated by his.

He didn't choose compassion, it just happened. But I wish so many more could take his example, myself included. How we act speaks volumes about our character, especially in a situation where the obvious choice seems to be hate.

When it comes down to it, we're all human.