The Consequences Of Dehumanization

“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” This famous quote from Mohandas Gandhi demonstrates the destructive consequences of vengeance. In addition to Gandhi’s quote, World War one is a case demonstrating the corruption of vengeance. This war took place in Europe and began with the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand from Austria- Hungary. Gavril Princip, a Serbian, was responsible for the assassination, leading to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. His motivation was due to Serbia being oppressed by Austria-Hungary. More countries joined this war either out of hunger for power or emotion. Power craving countries wanted to expand their territory and gain access to resources. Other countries such as Russia wanted to protect Serbia because they both came from the same ethnicity and France wanted revenge against Germany for their past actions. Individual’s motivation to join the world war was driven by
Many believed that becoming a soldier in WWI would be a righteous service, however they soon discovered the negative consequences of death and the risk of losing sense of life which is dehumanization and leads to the cause of PTSD. Death on the battlefields in war can be a gruesome and painful experience. Remarque displays a really visual sense of what death is like on the battlefield, "We see men living with their skulls blown open; we see soldiers run with their two feet cut off […] we find one man who has held the artery of his arm in his teeth for two hours in order not to bleed to death. The sun goes down, night comes, the shells whine, life is at an end.”( Remarque 134). The men that are