I was musing on all the wars and skirmishes in the world at the moment. We all know about Ukraine and Gaza, and the fallout from those conflicts. We now have Finland wanting nuclear weapons! 

Image by Welcome to All ! ツ from Pixabay

There is also a civil war going on in Sudan, Turkey is fighting the PKK, China is threatening Taiwan, North Korea is building rockets that can carry nuclear warheads, border conflicts between Venezuela and Columbia, as well as between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Other conflicts in Africa. Military coups. In Haiti, gangs, or a gang, vowing to remove the government with violence.

That’s just a few. Then there is violence that doesn’t come from governments. Criminal gangs, football hooligans, fights outside pubs, schoolyard fights, fights with police at demonstrations, etc. Sometimes even in a sports match, it breaks down into fighting. And, of course, people love to watch a boxing or wrestling match.

In the past, people (men) fought duels over perceived wrongs.

Then of course, there’s domestic violence. 

Everywhere there seems to be people willing to hit first.

When I’ve heard interviews with football hooligans, they claim to enjoy a ‘good fight’. I’m sure some soldiers enjoy shooting the enemy. 

I looked at the animal kingdom. Violence abounds. There is a saying about ‘nature red in tooth and claw’. What do the animals fight about? Mainly food, mates and territory. And dominance, too, of course, but the dominant animal gets the food, mates and controls more territory. Controlling more territory gives him (usually him) access to more food.

Image by Chris Stenger from Pixabay

Even fish fight. Ever heard of Siamese Fighting Fish?

Image by Natthapat Aphichayananthanakul from Pixabay

I don’t think protozoa fight, but mammals, birds, crustaceans, fish and insects certainly do. Here is a picture of some stag beetles fighting.

Image by Emilian Robert Vicol from Pixabay

Even some plants ‘fight’ by producing chemicals that inhibit the growth of others close by. Dandelions, for example.

Fighting is competition in the extreme, but we don’t balk at seeing red deer fighting for dominance, or capercaillies fighting for the attention of the females.

We accept seagulls squabbling over a packet of chips, and that we must not put two male hamsters in the same cage.

Image by Ruth Archer from Pixabay

Now, we humans like to think we are ‘above’ the animals, but are we? Russia and Ukraine, China and Taiwan, the Falklands War are over territory.

The civil wars everywhere are over power, or, if you like, dominance.

Not so much fighting over food that I can see, though.

But men and boys still seem to think that they can fight over women and girls.

So is there any hope? 

I think there maybe, but only if people can use the brains they have to think logically, and not with their instincts.

Fingers crossed.

What do you think about this? Are you optimistic about human ability to dispense with violence? And what happens if we can’t?