Constant violence points to unattainable world peace

We are living in a world where there’s no such thing as a safe place. It seems like every week there’s a shooting; violence continues to rise around the globe.

Many people carry the mindset of “This will never happen to me” or “That will never happen here,” but we simply just cannot wallow in bliss. Everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings and vigilant about the people in them.

In the span of one week, Martin Couture-Rouleau, 25, was involved in a high-speed chase with police officers after driving his car into two Canadian soldiers before being shot dead, resulting in one death and one injury.

Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, 32, entered the War Memorial in Ottawa, Canada with a loaded gun, killed a reservist and wounded a security guard. There’s been debate on whether the two incidents were related and somehow terroristic.

After 9/11, nations can never be too cautious when it comes to the overall security of their people. Radical groups are targeting democratic countries and it’s something that should not be overlooked and ignored.

According to TIME Magazine, the United States recently boosted security surrounding its government buildings in response to the Ottawa shooting.

The U.S. has increased the presence of the Federal Protective service after a Canadian soldier was fatally shot outside Parliament. Over 9,500 federal government buildings are protected by FPS and the security presence is being monitored and re-evaluated.

“Given world events, prudence dictates a heightened vigilance in the protection of U.S. government installations and the personnel,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.

In USA Today, Michael Taube said he believes the incident will strengthen Canada’s relationship with the U.S. As both countries have suffered enormous pain in the past two decades, a thriving relationship to keep both countries safe will be beneficial as they continue the alliance.

In addition to these two incidents in Canada, four New York Police Department officers were attacked by a man wielding a hatchet. As NYPD officers posed for a photograph with a pedestrian, the man wounded one officer in the back of the head and another on the arm.

According to a report from the New York Times, the man was shot on scene and a motive has not been established.

Public relations junior Angela Austin said that it’s scary for her to see this kind of violence in the news constantly.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to believe about what’s in the media,” Austin said. “I don’t think there’s going to be world peace and it will never be perfect.”

Extreme violence is nothing new, but how we respond to violent incidents is something we can change. With tension in the Middle East and Russia, fear from radical groups such as ISIS and the falling of governments, such as in the case of Burkina Faso, people are weary about their governments and their ability to truly protect them from harm.

“That’s why there’s a prominent theme with movies coming out, like ‘The Hunger Games,’ the ‘Maze Runner,’ ‘The Giver’ and ‘Divergent,'” Austin said. “People can relate to tension with governments and control. I don’t think there’s much trust there.”

It can boil down to human nature. It is the reason a true utopia can never exist.

People aren’t supposed to agree on everything or think the same way, losing individuality. Violence will always exist, but the ways of preventing it as much as possible can continue to change. Psychology sophomore Rence Troiano said that as long as there are disagreements, there will always be war.

“Especially with radical groups with an alarming number of supporters, political tension within countries and between countries will always rise,” Troiano said. “Everyone has a different mindset, but not everyone will accept that. It’s true for religion, politics and how money is handled.”

I was once a big believer of world peace, but I was only 7 years old. Now, I can hope there will one day be world peace, but I don’t believe it will ever truly happen.

As cynical as that sounds, the best a nation can do is to protect its people and take necessary safety measures. Some may disagree with the efforts put forth, but it is better to feel safe than be in the cross hairs of immediate danger.

“World peace would be such a beautiful thing and I think many people would love to strive for it,” said business administration senior Melissa Bias. “It’s something that we can try to get to as close as possible, but we’ll never be completely there.”

Opinion columnist Gemrick Curtom is a public relations senior and may be reached at [email protected].