Violence as a Social Convention

Humans are creatures of habit. We do as we are taught to do, following the lines of behavior drawn for us by previous generations. These rules of behavior are called conventions. Conventions govern the way that things are done, dictate what is polite and acceptable to the members of our society. To be conventional is to do "what is generally held to be acceptable at the expense of individuality and sincerity." The concept of sacrifice is a convention deeply embedded into our society and our religion. No one questions this raw and seemingly unnecessary violence because it is within the bounds of our convention. Violence is strongly perpetuated because it is a social convention.

In the novel Black Lamb and Grey Falcon Rebecca West witnesses the ritual sacrifice of lambs. She remains at the rock of sacrifice in hopes of better understanding what she has witnessed. On page 823, she says "the place had enormous authority." A place of sacrifice demands reverence even to outsiders, because the social convention to respect the sacrifices of others is embedded in societies around the world. The convention of sacrifice is rooted in religion, and I would argue that it has its place in all religions, but the scope of this paper limits me to the discussion of Christianity.

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary a sacrifice is "an act of slaughtering an animal or person or surrendering a possession as an offering to God or to a Divine or supernatural figure." The word is derived from the Latin word Sacer which means to be "connected with God or dedicated to a religious purpose and so deserving veneration." In the very structure of the word we can see its unbreakable ties to religion. The act of killing an animal and spilling ...

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...acle" (page 825). Rebecca West suggests that love and violence are strongly connected and I agree. Christ was so filled with love for humanity that he went to the cross as a willing sacrifice, knowing that death was the only means through which He could be understood.

Violence is as old as humanity and will continue to pervade our cultures as long as the social conventions of sacrifice are blindly followed. Until we question the meaning and purpose of the violence it will continue. Rebecca West strongly argues that the violence of the rock is senseless and can be avoided. Conscious choice of the individual demands a sundering of the conventional views towards violence and sacrifice. This generation of humanity and those to come must redraw the lines of social convention in order to bring violence into check. A history not understood is doomed to be repeated.