When considering the premise that we were created in God’s image and we were then given FREE WILL to choose between Good and Evil, one must not ask if we are Violent as a result of Nature or Nurture, but rather is it in our basic nature to be influenced toward violence or away from it. It is my considered premise that we are born neither violent nor non-violent or perhaps Good or Evil, although science has proven to some degree that the criminal brain holds certain characteristics and anomalies that the “normal” brain does not contain.
Given the existence of a defective or violent genetic code, dogs, for example may have certain characteristics bred into them such as aggression, for example. There is no reason to suspect that similar traits are not produced through human chromosomal repetition produced among some socio-economic groups, ethnic groups and sequestered communities where people tend to marry within certain groups or families over and over again, thus increasing the odds towards genetic defects and personality disorders. Or, perhaps, the damage that has been done to chromosomes through repetitive drug and alcohol abuse or fetal damage that has occurred because of this abuse either from the mother or the father. This, however, is a reasonable and logical explanation for the defect of violent or abnormal behavior and does not actually address the real question of rather one is born to be a violent person or one is molded and shaped into violence.
Certainly, our society brings forth through the media of television, magazines and other printed media, movies and video games a vast wealth of violent influence and this is undoubtedly a contributor to the fact that our society is becoming more and more violent across broader and broader socio-economic ranges. It is my strong belief, however, that we are, most of us, born without a predestined future of behavior. I believe that mankind is born neither violent nor peaceful, but rather we are born weak in our nature and we are easily seduced to compromise our morals, our basic values and our integrity to compromise almost everything if there is something we want to attain that through violence might be very easily gotten: money, fame, success, divorce and marriages, sex, so many things can be obtained through violence much more easily than self-control, education, hard work, moral values and self-respect. It is my proposal that we are born weak and there are forces that would influence us toward violence and moral break-down because it corrupts and tears apart the very fabric of our society and those forces would stand to gain, at least for the moment, a tremendous amount of power through influencing and preying upon our inherent weakness.
If we are to regain control over these seductive and attractive influences toward violence and weakness, we must reinstate a moral code within our society that would teach and reinforce values, integrity,the true rewards of hard work and ethics; strengths that our society has proven to be critical in establishing and maintaining a defense against moral degradation and the resulting corruption and violence.
