We live in a world congested with crime, hatred, and violence.  Everytime we turn on our television set, the top story on the nightly news is always about someone who was murdered or an establishment that perhaps was the victim of an armed robbery.

There are those who would say that violence is never the answer, and I am right in line with them. Violence has never done anything short of simply breaking down its opposer or shutting it down. When has violence ever improved a situation?

Take a look at World War II for instance. Millions of innocent Jews lost their lives for what Hitler called “The Final Solution.” His idea of creating new jobs, or rather, “improving the economy” was to eliminate the Jewish population, and what he manifested was a second world war and countless lives and devastation. Germany has never been able to shake the impression they left on the rest of the world in a futile and merciless attempt to reign superior. No, violence is not the answer to any solution, nor is a means of finding one.

Mahatma Ghandi is synonymous with the words peace and process. While he is well-known for being the most influential leader of Indian independence, he also led a revolution, teaching the world that you don’t have to hurt someone else to let your voice be heard.

Though he was killed by a violent act, his message of peaceful protest has remained an inspiration to all those who seek it. He was not silenced. Violence is only a temporary backlash. The body may break, but the voice can still transcend into many forms. In the words of Gandhi, “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”