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An Eye for an Eye Make the World Blind

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“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”

-M.K. Gandhi

An eye for an eye. To me this phrase is saying that if someone harasses me, I should harass him or her back. If someone steals my lunch money, I should steal theirs. If someone is making fun of my mother, it is all right for me to make fun of theirs as well. I used to believe in this. I thought that if someone was picking on me or teasing me, then I should give them a taste of their own medicine and pick on them back. What exactly is this teaching me though?

When I was younger, my grandmother taught me not to let anyone push me around. She said if someone punched me, I should punch them back twice as hard. But then I got to thinking; if someone punches me and I punch them back, does that not make me just as bad, or even worse, than them? And if the person that punches me was taught the same thing I was, would the cycle ever end or would we just go on punching each other forever?

Everyone knows that it is immoral and against the law to kill. But that does not always prevent people from doing it. Our government tells us not to kill, but what is the consequence if we do commit homicide? The death penalty. State sponsored execution is hypocritical. As a result of killing, murders and other criminals are sentenced to death. How is a person going to learn anything from this hypocritical decision? How can this be justifiable?

“What goes around comes around” many people would say. But those who fight fire with fire end up with ashes. I believe an eye for an eye will make the whole world

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