Tit for Tat

This little phrase, “Tit for Tat” is not that little if we look at the consequences of one. Tit for Tat means to give in return, especially an argument, in the same manner to the initiator of the argument.

All battles in the world have started from a small, usually illogical, argument. If we look in the past, all major battles could have been avoided and the world would have been a much peaceful place to live in.

Tit for tat is nothing but the result of an ego of the person in concern. Ego is a state of mind where the person carrying the ego thinks that he is always right and cannot accept defeat.

History is evidence for the small reasons of major battles.
The Greek invasion of Troy was a result of Priam’s, King of Troy, son Paris falling in love with Helen, the wife of the King of Sparta, Menelaus. Paris went to Greece and abducted Helen and brought her back to Troy. Almost the whole of Greece invaded Troy to avenge and free Helen. Furthermore, it resulted in a fierce battle between Hector, brother of Paris and a Trojan Hero and Achilles the half Greek God and the most powerful. These two characters had nothing to do with the abduction of Helen by Paris, but in turn, lost their lives. At the end, Helen returned to Sparta. Small Tit for Tats led to so many Greeks and Trojans getting killed and they said they fought for honor.

Another battle that arose from a small Tit for Tat was the World War I. The global war started with the alleged assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in 1914, “Black Hand” a Serbian Nationalist Secret Society. Austria-Hungary took this event as a chance to suppress Serbia which in turn took help of its ally Russia. Austria-Hungary took help of its long time ally Germany against Russia and that is how the World War I spread into a global war adding event by event.

Small roadside tiffs lead to big fights and often end up in people being sent behind bars or loosing their lives. It is all about satisfying one’s ego and proving oneself superior to others. There has been innumerable preaching by innumerous great men about peace and harmony. But Peace and harmony begin at home and it begins with cordial relationships with neighbors. This cannot be achieved unless we part with our miniscule ego problems. If someone throws a stone at you, does not mean that you throw a brick back at him. There would have been some misunderstanding resulting in the incident. The first thing that we should do is try to talk it out with the offender.

Today small tit for tats are breaking families. Couples are approaching courts to settle disputes or to fall apart. Intolerance and ego are the two major causes of Tit for Tats. Lets come together and throw out our egos and be more tolerant. Lets stop all our small Tit for Tats to bring about a happier world for generations to come.

Linus Orakles
http://www.authorclub.info/