2004 — 4th Place — 7th Grade

Jane King, Minnesota

Is World Peace Possible or Does Human Nature Make War Inevitable?

World peace would only be possible if women had more power in politics. There is historical evidence showing that female-dominated societies were more peaceful than societies ruled by men. Unfortunately, all of the matriarchal societies in history were overthrown by patriarchals. Today, many men think that women are weak and cannot live without having men around to protect them. Since men do not believe that women are able to run countries, very few females will be elected as leaders. Sadly, world peace will never happen.

For many centuries, ancient Greece was a matriarchal society. It was made up of small, peaceful villages. The people worshipped a female deity called Gaia and were ruled by a queen who personified Gaia. The Greeks lived without wars until about 1900 B.C. when patriarchals began to take over the villages. They introduced their own male-dominated religion and government. The patriarchals thought that women were inferior and should not be given the same rights as men. After being taken over by the patriarchals, the city-states in Greece were constantly at war with each other.

In modern times men and women have the same privileges in almost all nations, but there is still much fighting and suffering in the world. This is because most men are not willing to believe that women are capable of doing the same things as men. Some men even view women as toys instead of human beings.

Though world peace is ideal, it can never be achieved due to the sexist attitudes of men. Ever since ancient times, women's strong voices have been stifled by men's desire for power. If females are not allowed to be leaders, there will never be peace on earth.

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