Nonviolent vs. Violent Revolution Essay Example

successfully overthrew Batista and installed Castro as the leader of Cuba. Che Guevara was such a violent person that in 1960 he wrote a book titled “Guerilla Warfare,” which served as a “manual for Third World insurgents as part of his plan to bring Communism throughout the world” (Patay). In 1966, Che surfaced in Bolivia to organize another revolt by the local Communist peasants.With support for his cause failing, Che was captured by government Bolivian soldiers and executed on October 9, 1967. Fidel Castro’s beginnings are much like that of Che Guevara.

He grew up living a wealthy lifestyle in spite of the poverty that surrounded him. A peasant rebellion in Cuba’s eastern Oriente province influenced Castro’s political preference, causing him to lean towards a Communist-style government. Castro ran for the Cuban Parliament, but that dream was dashed when Fulgencio Batista came into power. In 1953, Castro, and fellow revolutionaries, attempted to overthrow Batista.Castro was captured and imprisoned. In the short term, Batista succeeded, but, in the process, he made Castro famous throughout Cuba.

After being granted amnesty in 1955, he then plotted with Che Guevara in a second attempt at overthrowing Batista. The second attempt failed; however, Castro’s third attempt, in 1958, succeeded, forcing Batista to flee the country. In 1959, Castro became the new prime minster of Cuba. He accomplished his goals of an egalitarian democratic government; however, the socialist form of government he established resulted in an impoverished nation, with one of the lowest standards of living. Not content with cruelly oppressing Cubans and driving into exile a tenth of the country’s population, Castro is responsible for having exported violent revolution around the world,

and for having aided and abetted terror and genocide in Africa” (Ballantyne).

Castro was reported by his peers to “carry with him a well-thumbed copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf and was fascinated by Nazi pageantry and paraphernalia” (Ballantyne). Adolf Hitler is generally recognized as the worst mass murderer in history. In 1920, Hitler joined a small political party which became the Nazi Party.By 1933, he was made chancellor of Germany. Hitler silenced all opposition through the use of intimidation and violence.

Those that continued to oppose him were murdered, most often by a secret police force. In 1939, Hitler’s all-encompassing lust for power drove him to start World War II by invading Poland. “During the war he executed his plan to an organized mass murder of the millions of Jews among the populations of countries under his control. About 6 million European Jews were murdered before the war ended” (Adolf Hitler-Biography, Part 2).

Tens of millions of people died during World War II. Hitler’s reign of terror ended in total defeat on April 30th, 1945, when he committed suicide in his underground bunker with advancing Soviet forces less than a mile away. Hitler, Guevara, and Castro should have listened to Gandhi when he said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” (Moncur). Non-violent movements can involve sit-ins, peaceful demonstrations, peace marches, speeches, and other ways to spread the word about one’s beliefs.

Some examples of non-violent protestors include: Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. , and the Dalai Lama. Beginning in 1893, Mohandas Gandhi spent 20 years in South Africa opposing discriminatory legislation against Indians. He was a pioneer of Satyagraha, or resistance through mass non-violent

civil disobedience. In 1914 he returned to his native India where he supported Indian independence by advocating a policy of non-violent non-cooperation. He worked to alleviate poverty, liberate women, and put an end to the caste system, with the ultimate goal of self-rule for India.

In 1930, Gandhi led his landmark Salt March, where thousands followed Gandhi to the sea to collect salt in defiance of the government monopoly, which he was imprisoned for until 1931. After his release he continued to work for Indian independence. In 1946, his new constitutional structure was recommended by the Cabinet Mission. In Bengal, in 1947, in an attempt to stop the Hindu-Muslim conflict there, Gandhi was assassinated. Even after his death, his commitment to non-violence and simple living have been a role model for oppressed people throughout the world.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a practitioner of non-violent non-cooperation. An example of his leadership as a civil rights activist was the bus boycott of 1955-56, “He led the black boycott (1955-56) of segregated city bus lines and in 1956 gained a major victory and prestige as a civil rights leader when Montgomery buses began to operate on a desegregated basis” (Martin Luther King, Jr. , Biography).

King organized the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), which “gave him a base to pursue further civil-rights activities, first in the South and later nationwide” (Martin Luther King, Jr. , Biography). King’s policy of non-violent non-cooperation requently landed him in prison. “His campaigns had mixed success, but the protest he led in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963 brought him worldwide attention” (Martin Luther King, Jr. , Biography). His March on Washington, “brought together more than 200,000

people” (Martin Luther King, Jr., Biography). King’s interests weren’t just civil rights, “His interests widened from civil rights to include criticism of the Vietnam War and a deeper concern over poverty” (Martin Luther King, Jr. , Biography). Sadly, while in Memphis, Tennessee, to support striking sanitation workers, he was shot and killed on April 4th, 1968.

Although his life was ended by violence, his non-violent ways brought about the end of government-sanctioned segregation and furthered the cause of African-Americans in their quest for equality. The 14th Dalai Lama is so revered for his anti-violence that his title is His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama is both the head of state and the spiritual leader of Tibet (His Holiness). The Tibetan people had called upon the Dalai Lama, in 1950, to “assume full political power after China’s invasion of Tibet in 1949. In 1954, he went to Beijing for peace talks with Mao Zedong and other Chinese leaders” (His Holiness).

Ultimately, after a scuffle in 1959, His Holiness was driven into exile in Northern India. In 1963, the Dalai Lama “presented a draft democratic constitution for Tibet that was followed by a number of reforms to democratize their administrative set-up. The new democratic constitution promulgated as a result of this reform was named ‘The Charter of Tibetans in Exile’” (His Holiness). In May 1990, “the reforms called for by His Holiness saw the realization of a truly democratic administration in exile for the Tibetan community” (His Holiness). His peace initiative, “The Five Point Peace Plan,” advocated many changes for Tibet.In 1989, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent struggle for the liberation

of Tibet.

He has consistently advocated policies of non-violence, even in the face of extreme aggression. Non-violent revolutions that are characterized by strikes, marches and sit-ins are always better than violent revolutions that are characterized by bloodshed and death. Society, as a whole, benefits from peaceful and gradual change rather than abrupt and violent change in which many lives are lost. When you stand up for what you believe in without resorting to violence, you will inspire people.Fear and intimidation do not inspire people. Non-violent non-cooperation has become the preferred method for change in today’s society and is a great legacy to leave for future generations.

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