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The Sword is Mightier Than the Pen


Hitler, a German politician, had the power and weapons to take over Germany and most of Europe. During the 1930’s Hitler used his Soldiers to almost wipe out a race and take over a continent. Many people say he was able to convince his audience by using his words; I think Hitler was able to convince audience with the weapons and physical violence he endured on them. Certain people believe that he was able to take over Germany using just his words. Hitler was very good at convincing his audience to do what he wanted. In his speech to the German people he said “He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.” This shows how convincing and well knowledged Hitler was. He was able to trick the German civilians minds into being on his side. I believe that he did use his words to gain all of his power, but after he gained all of his power he was able to use weapons and an army to take control. If Hitler only used his words he wouldn’t have gone as far as he did, he wouldn’t have killed any Jewish people, he wouldn’t have taken over Germany, we probably wouldn’t have even heard of the name “Hitler” if he didn’t use so much violence. I’m not saying violence is a good action, but violence can be used to take control of a situation.


In my English class we read a book called The Book Thief By Markus Zusak. This book was about a family named the Hubermanns adopt a girl named Liesel. This girl Liesel starts accepting the fact that she is changing her life and living with her new foster parents. Hans Hubermann, Liesel's Foster dad, starts teaching her to read and they develop a Great relationship. One night Liesel was awoken by a sound coming from the kitchen. When she stepped in she saw a man, a Jewish man. This was a big deal because this story takes place during World War 2. Hans tells Liesel that he will be staying with them until the war is over. This is an example of taking action during a time of distress because Hans is taking in a Jewish man that is supposed to be in a concentration camp or possibly dead. If more bystanders took action against Hitler by helping Jewish people then the holocaust would’ve been as bad as it was. Another example of bystanders standing up to Hitler is When in The Book Thief Hans Hubermann Gave bread to a Parade of Jewish men walking down their street. Hans was whipped by the soldier for helping, but he did set an example to stand up to evil. After this incident all of his neighbors threatened him and called him a Jew lover in mocking, disgusted tones. Instead of most Germans conforming with Hitler by hating Jews they could’ve stood up to Hitler by helping Jewish people whenever possible and not allowing Hitler to take advantage him. All of the actions bystanders didn’t take affected the way Hitler was able to take over Germany and Jews.

Recently there was an event that took place in an NFL locker room. A man named Richie Incognito was accused of bullying and harassing his rookie teammate named Jonathan Martin. Incognito had left Martin multiple voicemails using profanity and racial slurs. After about half a season of abuse Martin decided to resign from the Miami Dolphins and Incognito’s actions are now being investigated. My thoughts on the situation are that Martin probably could’ve handled Incognito himself and fought back. Martin is over 300 pounds and is an NFL football player; he should’ve taken the situation into his own hands and fought back. Rhoden, a former football player said “I always get a sense that i earned his respect by standing up to him”(Rhoden). Rhoden was talking about a veteran player on his team who pushed him around more than he should've. This shows that the best way to earn respect from someone bossing you around is to show them that you wont take it. Not only Martin is responsible for letting himself be bullied. Many of his teammates witnessed what was happening and should’ve stepped in. Martin along with his teammates are responsible for not taking enough action. In an NFL locker room veterans are going to push you around; they don’t push you around to bully you they push you around to see if you have the urge the to fight back.


In both The Book Thief example and the Incognito situation the victims didn’t do enough to end the problem. Hans Hubermann did the best he could to help Jewish people, but no one followed his actions to end the problem completely. Jonathan Martin made a choice to back away from the problem and quit. If Martin stood up to his bully he could still be living his dream playing in the NFL, and even have gained respect from Incognito. In my opinion the sword is mightier than the pen because it shows that you have the urge to take action and physically stop the evil that is happening in the world or even a small locker room. If a situation is being taken to far you must show that you’re tough enough to stop it or it will keep happening. Violence won't solve every problem, but violence does stop problem that is taken to the extreme.