Whether we are aware of it or not, but we are inviting violence to take the rein over our hearts and over our society. True, there are some situations when violence may be necessary. But even then violence should always be the last resort, not the first option. And even if we must adopt violent means, we should repent upon doing so, instead of congratulating ourselves at the sight of other people s suffering or death. If we pick the same answer as the government, it shows there is now something wrong in ourselves.
Violence can never end evil.
It may stop old evils, but will always harbour new ones, be they in ourselves, in other people or society. Evil, in the form of anger, vengeance, lack of compassion, are indeed our true enemy, not the people. We could kill people, but the evil will persist, and may even spread much more widely. It is these very evils that, once they set foot in anyone s mind, will make that person rejoice at the sight of other people s death. This article first appeared in the Bangkok POst 2 Feb. 2000.