Germs, Guns and Steel

In Silvana Paternostro’s memoir, My Colombian War she gives the impression of being a very narrow minded woman. She doesn’t analyze the situation Colombia is currently facing, and abruptly jumps into erroneous conclusions. Instead of finding the cause for the violence in the country, Paternostro blames it on nothing. She says there are no reasons for any violence whatsoever in the country, that Colombian’s murder others just because it pleases and makes them happy. That is everything but true. There are reasons behind the violence that has engulfed my country for decades. Violence in Colombia comes from politics, guerillas and drugs, not because people are delighted by it.

Paternostro directs her frustration towards the erroneous, and blames it on the violence of my country: our country. She intensely articulates her amusement at the way people are shot in Colombia for seemingly no reasons at all. Nevertheless, she doesn't realize there are veridical reasons behind said shootings, even if they aren't justifiable. Mainly our country’s continuous violence branched out from the once imposed since independence. The violence that once was due to political differences was then fought for political liberty, and then for drugs. People don’t choose to kills others just because they find it fun. Many were trying to defend their rights, their freedom of speech, their liberty to express their ideals. Likewise, though nowadays bloodbath isn’t for freedom of speech, it still follows the same ideals. People are tying to defend themselves, and that’s how violence appears.

What she fails to comprehend, however, is the fact that no country is perfect, not even her beloved idolatrized USA.While she is impressed by the fact that "more a dozen women have been killed by death squads, identifying themselves as the Squadron Against Unfaithful Wives" (Pg.155), she isn't impressed by american teenagers shooting five year olds as a call of attention. Lately, there has been a constant flow of news about shooting in America. They are about how an eighteen-year-old shot twenty innocent people in peaceful a movie theatre, or how someone else shot a thirty kindergarteners, or a high school students. She fails to understand that violence not only affects Colombia, but the world as a whole too. She shouldn’t be surprised by shootings, as they are quite common all around the world. Both in peaceful countries like the states, or in violent ones like Colombia. She doesn't comment on the fact that in Middle East countries women are castrated by their husbands by rather stupid acts. The human race is a violent one, and there is not much that we can do. 

While in the states people mourn over their dead relatives, who were shot to dead watching a superman movie, or at school for no valid reasons whatsoever. Colombia is filled with drug lords, mafias and guerillas. Though neither justification is acceptable, my country has had a history of violence that is neither easy to stop nor will do so rapidly. She has to accept the fact that not every country is a first world one, or that every country is supposed to be perfect. Colombia, like many others as well fights every day to stop its persisting violence.