I remember there was a time when the word "violence," sounded like a taboo, people mentioned it only on rare occasions due to how bad society sees the act but today, it is a very common word, and not just the word, the act itself is practiced without a feeling of guilt.
Violence has polluted our society so much that it has become the deal of the day, you see it everywhere you go, physically, on television, on social media, on games, and so on.
It amazes me how children whose parents have never fought or practiced any act that involves violence know about violence and are good at it.
This evening I was scrolling through my feed on Facebook and I came across a post about some youths who were murdered in Edo by an angry mob because they suspected they were kidnappers, I don't know how genuine the information is but I was grieved, must everything involve violence? What is the work of the police then?
How did we arrive at this place for crying out loud, where is the love and humanity in us? These days people think the best way to proof that you are a man and can defend yourself is to retaliate to anything and fight if need be.
Most young people belong to one cult group or the other just to be prepared for anything that may arise and I am wondering where we are headed with all these things.
If you ask me whether the kind of movies we watch, the kind of content we read that are violence related are responsible for some of these things I will say yes.
My reason is because our eyes and ears are gateways into our hearts, what we watch or read have the ability to manifest as they are trapped in our hearts.
A popular saying goes, "What you eat is what you become." If all you see, hear, or read about is violence, trust me it will only take a short time before you start practicing violence.
The thing is like a spirit, and it's highly contagious, if you don't know how to guard your heart enough, it will infect you without your knowledge and continue to grow until the day it matures and manifests itself.
Possible Way Out
I won't say I know exactly how to tackle these things. It seems to have eaten deep into our world today and the annoying part is people are pleased with it. However, there are a few ways I think may help.
1 . Guard your heart : as individuals we ought to be mindful of the kind of contents we feed our minds with, if we do more of violence, trust me that is how our hearts would be shaped.
2 . The government should kick against violent content and violent acts in society: if the government would set standards for movies, articles and skits forbidding violence, I think it will help us a lot.
Imagine a child of 4 or 5 years nowadays who already knows about violence and is willing to practice it because he thinks it is the way to survive and a lot of them learned it from movies.
3 . Sensitization on the dangers of violence will also go a long way to help. Teachers, spiritual leaders and parents can help in this aspect. If we continue to hear about the bad sides of this thing, I believe it will change our mentality. Probably the next generation would come with a different mindset regarding violence and who knows our society may be better.
