With the shooting of Pulse Nightclub still in the hearts and minds of those in America, I began to wonder how a person could do something so evil. It made me think about all of the terrible events that have taken place in our world within the past 20 years. How could the human race get to this point? Why are people still killing each other over their race, sexual orientation, religion or gender?
Has our world always been such an evil place?
I remember my parents telling me, "The world isn't what it used to be. It used to be safe. I could ride my bike for miles at a time and I never had to worry. Unfortunately that isn't the case today." After doing some research, I believe that our world has always been inherently evil. I believe that it is the rise of negative media outlets that cause readers, viewers and citizens to believe that this is the most evil the world has ever been.
For example, the Romans established themselves in 27 BC, and dissolved in 1453. They participated in a "fight-to-the-death" game using gladiators against gladiators, or gladiators versus large, dangerous animals. These gladiators were often times forced to participate in the games, and the people of Rome, including the Royal family, enjoyed watching these events regardless of their brutality of innocent people and animals. It is estimated that 5,000 gladiators could have died in the coliseum each year the Roman Empire was standing. That's an estimated 7.4 million lives lost.
Fast forward 240 years. Three young girls claimed to be possessed by the devil, thus beginning the Salem Witch Trials. The religious Puritans of America were nearly paralyzed with fear at the thought of witchcraft, or of possession. After the three girls were under control again, the Puritans began collecting people and accusing them of witchcraft for seemingly average reasons. One woman was accused for being promiscuous and for gossip! By the end of the trials, 200 people were accused of witchcraft and 20 people were killed.
Slavery in America was one of the most tragic periods in this country's history. The saddest thing about it was that slavery was a part of the constitution. To have a country filled with hope and freedom, then to take it away from an entire race and call it constitutional was madness and barbaric. Slavery lasted from 1501-1865 on our continent, and the majority of slaves were not treated with kindness. Unfortunately, the death toll is impossible to exact. According to the ideals of the time, slave lives were not as valuable as white lives, so there was never a proper body count.
Finally, the genocide of Jews in hopes of making Germany pure was known as the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi army slaughtered this religious group (including women and children) using mostly mass shootings, gassing trucks and finally the effective Zyklon B Gas was used. Like slavery, it is impossible to know an exact number on how many Jewish deaths there were, but it is an estimated six million.
Without a doubt, our world is still a vicious and violent place. But it is not the worst it's ever been. We have complete access to news, videos, articles. Nearly anything that we want to see or know is available at the touch of a finger. This is the reason our world seems to be so corrupt and without morals. We are bombarded with information on a daily basis, when the news used to come on in the evenings and the newspaper was delivered daily. There was not a constant access to the devastating stories we hear and read as we scroll through our social media account. Our world simply appears to be falling apart because of our rise in technology and information.
