(Written on February 10th, 2015. Younger Olivia tryna understand the world.)
Humanity
can be corrupted and destroyed when individuals are governed by fear, lies, and
violence. In James Michener’s historical novel, The Bridge At Andau, we
view the story of Peter Szigeti, who as a youth was considered an elite
“communist in training” under the Russian rule in Hungary. He excelled in his
studies underneath the watchful eye of the system, yet he was eventually able
to realize the truth of the evils of communism.
The AVO was constantly under lock and key, check and balance. While it controlled many, other organizations checked it; this caused Szigeti to wonder why so much suspicion was necessary in maintaining the system. He finally realized that communism was not a brotherhood, but slavery kept intact by the use of fear. He said, “I looked at the life of fear we led and I concluded, ‘Life under communism has no hope, no future, no meaning. Yesterday, today and tomorrow are all lost!’”
Because the government threatened its subjects, using fear as the principle of its system, humanity could not exist. The AVO also made an extreme effort to indoctrinate and educate certain groups of young people so as to raise the next generation of dedicated communists. However, because their teachings were based on lies, these students were able to easily see the obvious inconsistencies between the lives they led and the lives they were promised. The Hungarian people were told, “You are blood brothers to the great Soviet Republic of Russia. Together we will stand against the world.” Yet because of the oppression and poverty the people were forced to live in, they knew this could not have been true.
When the rebellion broke out against the AVO, they immediately responded with violence. Inevitably, violence had to be used on both sides in order to combat each other. The people were killed through utterly inhumane means, due to the absence of morals in government on the issue of violence. Humanity could not prevail due to both sides being triggered into a state of mindless war against the other, as we see in the barbarism demonstrated by the AVO’s attacks against the Hungarian citizens. Through the insights given by Michener, it can be learned that when individuals are governed by the ingredients of fear, lies, and violence, humanity cannot exist and is ultimately eliminated.
The AVO was constantly under lock and key, check and balance. While it controlled many, other organizations checked it; this caused Szigeti to wonder why so much suspicion was necessary in maintaining the system. He finally realized that communism was not a brotherhood, but slavery kept intact by the use of fear. He said, “I looked at the life of fear we led and I concluded, ‘Life under communism has no hope, no future, no meaning. Yesterday, today and tomorrow are all lost!’”
Because the government threatened its subjects, using fear as the principle of its system, humanity could not exist. The AVO also made an extreme effort to indoctrinate and educate certain groups of young people so as to raise the next generation of dedicated communists. However, because their teachings were based on lies, these students were able to easily see the obvious inconsistencies between the lives they led and the lives they were promised. The Hungarian people were told, “You are blood brothers to the great Soviet Republic of Russia. Together we will stand against the world.” Yet because of the oppression and poverty the people were forced to live in, they knew this could not have been true.
When the rebellion broke out against the AVO, they immediately responded with violence. Inevitably, violence had to be used on both sides in order to combat each other. The people were killed through utterly inhumane means, due to the absence of morals in government on the issue of violence. Humanity could not prevail due to both sides being triggered into a state of mindless war against the other, as we see in the barbarism demonstrated by the AVO’s attacks against the Hungarian citizens. Through the insights given by Michener, it can be learned that when individuals are governed by the ingredients of fear, lies, and violence, humanity cannot exist and is ultimately eliminated.