by Vincent Maxwell

Created on: November 23, 2009   Last Updated: November 24, 2009

Since the beginning of time, humanity has had conflicts. Some extremely small, others threatening to end the world. The reason why it seems we have so many conflicts happens to be the same thing that makes humanity so great.

There are so many different cultures on this tiny planet, all looking to grow. And in any conflict, its very difficult to see the other side of the battle, specifically when the culture difference is great. We are raised in our culture, with our beliefs, surrounded by people who have very similar ideas.

So when another country has a completely different opinion on something than us, it's hard to understand that their culture is different, sometimes with different ideas that lead them to a different conclusion. Something else that makes seeing the other side of the coin difficult is when our nation is in a conflict, it assumes it's right.

No one ever stops to think, well why does this other country want it a different way? Usually after the conflict is over, the sides mend somewhat and a little light comes through showing what it was like to be on the other side.

History is riddled with examples where both sides thought they were right, with the opposing side being wrong. A key example would be the Cold War. At its peak, the population of both sides were afraid to be labeled as a sympathizer of the opposing side. But when it comes down to it, both sides were right as well as wrong.

Both made good decisions, as well as bad ones that we still feel the repercussions from today. We do not realize that just like in the United States, the Soviet Union was projecting the opposing side as bad and untrustworthy. All of this was fueled purely by conflicts. With every conflict that transpired, each side became more sure they were doing things the right way.

The problem with this idea is that people start to see the opposing force as almost not being human, they continuously hear and see propaganda. Some people also feel so strongly about their side of a conflict that it angers them to even think about the other side.

But conflicts are not restricted to great world campaigns with countries fueling jets for world domination. A conflict could merely be a disagreement with a neighbor over a car parked in the street. For us, it's hard to imagine why they would need a car in the street when they have a perfectly good driveway. We do not stop to take the time to think that maybe there is a perfectly good explanation.

As with every conflict, it should be handled by communicating in a reasonable manner. It should be finding out why first, before letting anger and frustration in. It is not hard to look back at personal conflicts, and see the difference kind communication can make.

We have to understand not only on a world level, but even a street level that we are all different in someway from each other. It is only then that we begin to understand and accept one another regardless of conflict.

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