Nonviolence involves skill, determination, and a special mindset that can only be found in a few people. The ability to stay put in the face of adversity when every impulse in your body is screaming at you to fight or take flight defines these special people. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Junior did just that.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon devised by the ingenuity of man." The display of this opinion all over the world is staggering. The Civil Rights Movement followed nonviolence protests, and even though there was pain and suffering, it clearly worked. What was accomplished during those amazing years wouldn’t have been possible with deadly weapons.

Everyone knows about Martin Luther King’s famous, “I Have a Dream Speech.” The key was, it wasn’t just a dream. It led to action, and inspiration, and a notion that spread across the nation like wildfire. Nonviolent protests aren’t for the dreamers, they are for the people who want, and demand, action. They force change, yet they savor the lives of human beings and hold them dear. Anyone can hurt others with a gun, but it takes a truly amazing person, to get their message across without taking the lives of others.
All protests have a leader, but it’s the followers that pull the whole thing together. The passion and the beliefs of the supporters are the backbone of any movement. All the leaders of nonviolent protests put together wouldn’t be able to accomplish a single thing. They may be recognized the most, but even Nelson Mandela could have done nothing about the apartheid in South Africa without the help of his loyal supporters. Every piece has its own spot in the puzzle, and you need all the pieces to solve the puzzle.

The world has lived through bloody war after bloody war, after power hungry tyrants greedily slaughtered their way to the top. History has been about pain and suffering of humans, animals, and Mother Nature. Sometimes, the good side of humanity shows itself, and that golden sunlight is the peace, the times when people are content. When they are discontented, maybe, just maybe, they will think twice before turning their weapons on their fellow human beings.