Der Letzte Sommer - Ricarda Huch

People, today, kill for various reasons. Oftentimes they kill for vengeance, an argument gone wrong, gang killings, political reasons, and sometimes even because they have to.

With a lot of our stories we have read thus far, vengeance or revenge has been a centralized theme. People killing because of a wrong done to them, and they feel that the only way to get even is to take the law into their own hands and kill those who wronged them.

Growing up near Minneapolis, I heard a lot of gang related killings on the news. Gangs fighting each other for no reason, other than to simply kill each other. Sometimes they are fighting over turf, and sometimes new members are required to kill someone as an initiation.

Sometimes, people have to kill in their profession. Soldiers and officers are a couple of the professions where they are required to carry a weapon. Soldiers are required to kill others in the line of duty. In certain situations, it may be necessary for officers to take the life of another. As an officer, we have the power to not only take a person's rights away from them, but we have the tools necessary to take a person's life. Once a shot is fired, it cannot be taken back. At that point, an officer is accountable for every action he or she makes. That is why it is necessary that they have a reason to fire their weapon.

"Der Letzte Sommer," or "The Last Summer," was written by German author and poet, Ricarda Huch. Here is a link to a site that gives a brief biography of Huch: http://www.dhm.de/lemo/html/biografien/HuchRicarda/

"The Last Summer," is a novel about a government minister who shuts down a University due to unruly riots and protests. Instead of considering the value that this University has, he makes the eventual decision to shut it down. His own children begin to protest the shutting down of the University, and eventually they seek education elsewhere.

One of the important things I feel that Huch is trying to convey in this story is, whether or not it is necessary to kill for one's political beliefs. Huch writes a story about how Lju kills the minister, Jegor, by connecting a bomb to the "J" key on his keyboard. As with many assassination attempts, or successes (if you can call them that), there are often casualties. In this case, we have Lusinja, who, unfortunately, was killed as well.

I understand that people have opinions - strong opinions - on issues today. But does that give a person the right to take the life of another simply because they do not agree? I believe strongly in standing up for what you believe in and sticking your ground. However, it is hard for me to imagine killing in order to get my point across. If everyone went around killing whenever someone opposed their beliefs, it would wreak havoc in the world.

But, then there is a problem of how do you solve the issue. When it is simply between two people, a mediator can get involved and help resolve an issue before it escalates. When it comes to two countries with opposing view points, it becomes more difficult to solve. You can't just call a meeting of the minds and make everything better. It is on a much bigger scale, with planning between government officials, and oftentimes, the results are not immediate.No matter what is decided, there is going to be someone angry at the outcome. Which then leads, once more, to the killing for your own beliefs.

Is it justifiable to take another life for what you believe in? It is a difficult decision for some to make, however, in my opinion, I believe that nobody should be able to take another person's life unless it was absolutely necessary. Killing for self defense or when your life is in jeopardy...then yes, do what you can to protect yourself. But to kill simply because you don't see eye to eye with some...no, find another way to solve your issue or simply agree to disagree.