CONFLICT UPRISING
As I walked
into the youth center, I noticed some of my friends dancing at one end of the
room. What I saw made my heart skip a beat. My close friend James was dancing
to a cool music with Marceline. I had gone out with Marceline for three
week-ends in a row. I had high hopes that we would continue to see each
other-and James knew that.
I stood inside the doorway watching. I felt
hurt and angry-with both of them. How could my friend do this to me? How could
James? As the feelings grew in me, many thoughts went through my mind. Part of
me wanted to confront both of them while the other part wanted to run back
outside. Instead I waited until the music stopped. As soon as James was alone,
I went closer and invited him for a talk. My situation was an indication of
how a conflict generates.
WHAT
IS A CONFLICT?
A conflict is
a struggle between people who disagree. The struggle may be verbal, physical,
or both. Conflicts range from little disagreements between friends to violent
battles between gangs or armies. Conflicts are not unusual. Everybody argues with someone from time to time.
In principle, conflicts are not bad. Through them, people settle disagreements
and move towards constructive action. In this way, there is positive force in
people’s lives. When conflicts arise for the wrong reasons and when they are
not well handled, they are an unwelcome part of life.
Some conflicts are so trivial that people do
not even know how they began. Others have very apparent causes. What creates
conflict for one person might not be the same for someone else. In general,
conflicts arise from circumstances notably, situational factors, personal
differences, and power struggles.
i)
Situational
factors: Any situation that dissatisfies people can stir conflict. Such
situations occur commonly during daily life. I always ate launch with my wife
at home. When she does not show up for the third time in a week, I am upset.
When I saw her eating with her sister the next day, I became even more upset.
This was a situation that was developing that could result in a conflict
between us.
ii)
Personal
differences: Personality differences are often at the root of conflict.
Values can clash when people express them. If tolerance for differences is low,
conflict is even more likely. You need to be very sensitive to feelings of
people around you in order to speak and act in ways that do not hurt them.
iii)
Power
Struggles: When people feel a need to be in control, a power struggle may
result. This too can spur conflict. When a boss routinely assigns what he
avoids to a subordinate, that subordinate may start wanting to do something about
it especially if the boss's position of leadership is an elective one.
In each of the circumstances above and
many others, preventing conflicts is not the issue. Such conflicts are part of
life. The extend to which a conflict goes, depends on your response to it from the beginning.
Conflicts have to be handled appropriately, because when they aren’t,
individuals and society pay a heavy price.
No comments:
Post a Comment