Chreia's, Maxim's and the Persuasive Essay

We Shall Sooner Have the Fowl by Hatching the Egg than by Smashing It

This statement by Abraham Lincoln is very wise and should be heeded. Abraham Lincoln was raised in a simple log house, a humble origin for one destined for so much greatness. He was elected 16th President of the United States of America, which is a testament to his credibility. He cared about his country, writing and orating the Emancipation Proclamation. He was so influential that his enemies went to the greatest possible lengths to silence him; he was assassinated on April 15, 1865. This wise, honored, and well-spoken man shows to us in this saying the consequences of aggression; as well as the consequences of not seeking alternatives.

Do you not agree with this man, who so wisely shows us that we shall sooner have peace with our enemy by negotiating with him, rather than beating him into submission?

To illustrate the point, think of an outstanding babysitter, she plays with her wards, and patiently teaches them. She does it repeatedly, teaching them that they need to obey her. Though the road is long, her kind, gentle, and loving ways make her charges love her and obey her when she is finished.

However, if an inadequate babysitter gets frustrated with her charges, they will not want to obey her. This will anger her, until she eventually starts to abuse them. When the children's parents come home, it will be a sad prospect for the babysitter. She will learn the hard way that her aggressive manner does not pay.

Just as a nation at war should not drop a bomb on their enemy's capitol, so we too should search for a less aggressive solution. The nation should try to negotiate peace with a lesser loss of life, rather than destroying tens of millions of lives: many of which are not even responsible for their country's actions. We too should not take the most violent path to an end, but instead a more peaceful one.

Take an example from the bestselling series The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The Capitol decides to suppress rebellion in the Districts with the Hunger Games, a cruel, aggressive device meant to manipulate the Districts into obedience by taking their children and forcing them to kill each other for no other apparent reason other than the entertainment of the Capitol. When the Hunger Games have been going for 75 years, the districts rebel. When the smoke clears, there has been massive loss of life and no point to the games in the end. The Capitol was undermined by the violence it created to suppress the Districts, and, as seen in the next paragraph, it did more harm than good.

Mahatma Gandhi, a peaceful revolutionist, said, "I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." Is this not true? All the examples we have seen thus far have proved it so. Would not the nation hate its conqueror for the massive loss of innocent life? Would not the children always remember not the kind words, but the abuse of their babysitter? Would the districts not be forever scarred due to the "Games" forced upon them?

All you who are ever tempted to leap to aggression at first provocation... consider your actions; consider the wise men that have been laid before you. I pray of you, please do not let these words fall on deaf ears, and realize that of all the possible actions available to you, violence is not the answer.