Eva Natinsky 10/21/12

Margaret Mead
Mead introduces three different ideas about war: 1. Biological necessity War is a human instinct, something thats part of our species; its unavoidable no matter what culture someones a part of. 2. Sociological inevitability War is inevitable in advanced societies because of power struggles and thievery. It does not happen, however, in low level societies because there is no social stratification and/or possessions to be stolen. 3. Bad invention War is just an idea someone came up with perhaps to resolve a conflict or gain power. It is not a necessity, it is just an invention thats been around a long time, and man does not give up inventions unless a better one comes around. Mead agrees with the third. She uses the Eskimos as an example to disprove the biological necessity idea. The Eskimos are not a gentle people, but they do not have war. They have quarrels, looting, thievery of wives, etc. but the idea of war does not exist. She then uses the Andaman Pygmies as an example to disprove the idea that Eskimos dont have war simply because their society isnt advanced enough. The Andamans have war (however small the armies may be), and they have a very low level of society: they are hunters and gatherers. She says that neither of those groups would have any desire to loot, because they are nomads and have few permanent possessions, or overpower another group, because there is no social stratification. I agree with Mead because I believe that war is not inevitable. Some people may not see any other way to decide something, but thats only because no other idea exists in their culture. I do not believe that war is a part of human nature, either, even though it has been around for long enough to seem that way. Killing people is horrible. There is no other way to put it. Americans honor the army because those people risk their lives for us. But at the same time, theyre out there taking peoples lives, taking mothers and fathers and sons, just as the enemy is taking mothers, fathers and sons from people in America. Yes, they believe theyre doing whats right, fighting for what they believe in, and they should be honored for that. But people really need to come up with some other way of communicating. Honestly, there is no need to take over someones home when you already have your own. All that has ever resulted from that is death and destruction. If the citizens dont like the government, theyll overthrow it and they can set up any kind of government they want! They really dont need some other country to come in and

Eva Natinsky 10/21/12

assume what theyre doing is what everybody really wants, because thats not always the case, and there should definitely not be any bloodshed over it. People should fight for what is right, fight for what they believe in, but fight with your mind and not a gun. Commence in a conference, and not a war, so that the generations to come will have a world left to live in. There wont be anything left if the world gets involved in a nuclear world war. Leaders now should be thinking of ways to end all war, so that later, leaders will only be thinking about how to win their arguments. War should stay behind in history books, not jump off the pages and reply its favorite battles, and Peace should not be a synonym of war.