Right in the English Language

¶ … right" in the English language was in 1846 by the American pacifist and abolitionist Adin Ballou, who wrote "But now, instead of discussion and argument, brute force rises up to the rescue of discomfited error, and crushes truth and right into the dust. 'Might makes right,' and hoary folly totters on in her mad career escorted by armies and navies." Abraham Lincoln reversed this phrase in his 1860 Cooper Union Address: "Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."

Although Lincoln and others use the phrase in a positive way, this concept has given individuals and countries throughout the world the belief that they are "right" to start conflicts and wars. It often seems that we humans still have much of the fear of territorality and survival of the fittest within us.

This phrase gives one individual or country the "right" to start a fight or war because there is a fear of danger from another person or country. Look at how many crimes are committed every day of one person against another -- a husband against a wife or child, a woman against a man, two men or women, and even two youths. The fight can be with fists, but also knives and guns.

On a national or international level, the stakes become much higher. The number of people injured or killed can be in the hundreds of thousands or even millions. The weapons can be guns and bombs, but also deadly chemicals or nuclear bombs.

Throughout the history of humankind, nations worldwide have fought nations, as might declared might on another. During the 20th century, the United States was involved with two world wars, the Cold War with Russia and conflicts such as Korea and Viet Nam, as well as numerous smaller regional wars around the world.

On September 11, 2001, another group of individuals showed what they considered was "right with might." Now our country is involved with a War in Iraq. Meanwhile, fears mount with North Korea and national situations such as India and Pakistan and Israel and Lebanon.

Is it utopian to believe that "peace can make right"? That such sayings, as "Do unto others as they do unto you," and "To each one his (her) due" can actually be followed in a positive way?

In the fifth chapter of the Once and Future King, Merlyn wants to teach Arthur that the point of ruling is to create order and peace, not just to make people do what he wants them to do. Merlyn shows Arthur what a horrible thing "might makes right" is.

The author, T.H. White was a pacifist, and wrote this book during WWII. He uses the Aurthurian story to stress his own belief that violence and aggression are not the answer to life's challenges. Regardless of what government is in place, the importance is the leader and his/her views on what is right and moral. The answer, then, does not lie in a country, but the people who make up that country. The answer lies within all individuals to find a way of ruling in peace.