Is Violence Worse Today Than in the Past?

Melissa Baier

Global Socioeconomics Perspectives

Instructor: Errol Palmer

November 24, 2008

Outline:

I. Abstract

II.Early history of violence.

III.Violence today and the different types of

violence.
 IV.Is violence worse today in the worse in the

world?

V. Conclusion

VI.Annotated Bibliography.

Thesis: When it comes between the past and the present, the

violence today in this world is a whole lot worse than it was in

the past.

Abstract:

This paper is to show you how the violence has gotten

worse over the years, by showing how it was in the past and

how it is in the present. Also showing the various types

of violence. Also in this paper it will tell you how that

in some countries today that violence is worse than it is

in other countries. Also it reflections on how people were

treated in the Holocaust. Also the beliefs of that violence

will still continue to worse.

 Violence is when a person commits a harmful act to

another person or a group of people, which we also have to

include torture. Since the beginning of time there has

always been violence. There is somewhat of a difference

between the past and present when it comes to violence. A

reflection of these differences will presented, as well as;

the different types of violence. When it comes between the

past and present, the violence today in this world is worse

than it was in the past.

Since the beginning of time, there has always been

some type of violence. People were tortured for various

reasons, such as punishment for a crime or to try to get

information out of a person. Also in the past people were

stoned to death because of a sin. For example, in some

Arab countries if a person steals from someone; then their

punishment was that their hand was cut off. Some people

look at it as justice, but I look at it as violence toward

another person. A simple solution would be to put the

person in jail. This practice is still used today in those

countries. Also in Germany there was ethnic cleansing of

various groups of people which was led by Hitler. “Hitler

and his National Socialist movement portrayed Jews, Slavs,

Gypsies, and other non-Germanic peoples as racially and

culturally inferior (Viotti,P.R. and Kauppi, M.V.; pg.

407).” As a result, more than six million of these

people were either murdered or worked to death. These

people were put in concentration camps and some of them

were subjected to genocide. Violence was really bad in the

past.

The violence of today is somewhat different than the

past. We now have terrorism and countries that have nuclear

weapons. The weapons of today are more advanced. We are now

capable to destroy a whole country. We also have a lot of

murder, assault, robbery, and rape in this world. “ More

than 16,000 murders were committed in 2002, along with more

than 900,000 aggravated assaults (Sullivan, T.J. ;

pg.144).” By looking at these numbers, it’s shocking to

see how many people have committed these crimes in one year

time. Also Russia has nuclear weapons at their disposal.

“Proliferation of Russia’s enormous stockpile of nuclear,

chemical and biological materials; ill-maintained nuclear

reactors on land and on decommissioned submarines; an

impaired early- warning system controlling missiles on

hair-trigger alert…(Cohen, S.F.; pg. 153).” So if any

country was to make Russia mad, they have the capability to

become violent and to destroy ones country.

If you’re wondering if violence is worse today, it has

been really the same over the years; however in other

countries it is worse. If the people that are raised in

violent countries, then they more than likely to become a

violent person. According to Ike Okonta that “the

political order of Nembe is founded on and sustained by

violence ( Okonta, Ike; pg. 176).” In Europe conflict is

most obvious on the outside of the European Union,

especially during the 1990s in the former Yugoslavia.

(Paraphrased-Viotti, P.R. and Kauppi, M.V.; pg. 461) Like

in Israel, they have been fighting over land for years, but

they have always been fighting and probably never will quit

fighting. I myself believe that violence is worse today

because of the technological advances on weapons and that

people are a lot more evil today.

In conclusion, violence is worse today because of the

nuclear weapons that we have access to use on one another.

Violence gets worse everyday in this country. Yes in

certain countries it is more peaceful, but in some

countries they are not at peace with each other. So

violence toward one another is worse today than it was in

the past. Also I believe that the violence will still

continue and it will never cease. There have always been

different types of violence since the beginning of time.

In closing we live in a world of violence and will continue

to get worse.
Annotated Bibliography

Cohen, Stephen F. (2008) The New American Cold War. Comparative

Politics 07/08 (25th edition). McGraw-Hill: Iowa.

Cohen wrote about the result of the Soviet breakup. Also

about how Russia bearing every nuclear and other devices of mass

destruction, which virtually collapsed. He also wrote about the

enormous stockpile of nuclear, chemical, and biological

materials. Also he wrote how Putin said that Russia isn’t stable.

Okonta, Ike. (2008) Nigeria: Chronicle of a Dying State.

Comparative Politics 07/08 (25th edition) McGraw-Hill: Iowa.

Okonta wrote that how Nembe was founded on the basis of

violence. The reason for their violence was because of oil and

political repression. The communal violence was getting worse

everyday.

Sullivan, Thomas J. (2007) Sociology: Concepts and Applications

in a Diverse World. (7th edition) Pearson: Boston.

Sullivan wrote about violent crimes and how many occurred

in the United States. He also writes about organized crimes such

as smuggling drugs. Also he wrote about white-collar crime and

also he discusses about Enron.

Viotti, Paul R. and Kauppi, Mark V. (2009) International

Relations and World Politics: Security, Economy, Identity. (4th

edition. Prentice Hall: New Jersey.

They wrote about the large parts of Europe and the

difficult economic circumstances. They also wrote about how

India and Pakistan are both nuclear-armed states. Also that

North Korea has nuclear weapon capabilities and there is a

constant concern in northeast Asia.