1. In your opinion, what is conflict?
Conflict, in my own terms and understanding, is when there are differences of beliefs, thoughts, opinions, etc. between others that may lead to disagreements and arguments. There can also be conflicts within yourself. For example, you don't know if you should go to a friend's house on a Tuesday night or stay home to study for an AP European History test that you have the next day. (I took AP Euro. last year... This person should definitely study!) This is a person's conscience; telling him/her that something may be the right or wrong way. Eventually, this conflict will be resolved when this person decides whether to stay home or go. Conflicts are happening everywhere and at every instant. You will face at least one conflict in a day whether it be within yourself, with a co-worker, a friend, or a politician.
2. What causes conflict?
Conflict is caused by many different things. It can be caused anywhere between a misunderstanding, a difference of belief, thought, or opinion, or even just wanting to get into a disagreement. People are entitled to their opinions, but sometimes people "butt heads" when their opinions are different and they think that they're the correct one.
3. Is conflict always negative?
Conflict is usually negative during the time of conflict when there may be an argument or fight, but is can also benefit a person and become a positive element. For example, wars. Wars are negative events during those times of fighting, but their outcomes can help the world for the better. Treaties of alliances can be put into place, economies can be built up again, and governments can be greater and better for the people.
4. Are there times when conflict is necessary?
There are definitely times when conflict is necessary. This can be a way that a person can understand or get to know a co-worker. They learn to work out their differences in order to be able to work with one another and help their company. Another example would be a teenage couple that are immature and wanting to get married. Hopefully, they can see conflicts and get through some arguments and realize that a marriage is not something that they should be getting into at their young age. I'm not saying that teenage marriage always ends in "flames," but most probably do. They could focus on college and a career and then look into a marriage if they could get through all of those struggles of school and work.
5. What are strategies that can override conflict or work past it?
Overriding conflicts can be a difficult thing, but certain strategies can lead to help work past those conflicts. I am going to use an example of two co-workers conflicting with each other to describe the strategies. Two co-workers... Let's name them Mark and Jill... are having a disagreement on where to put the coffee pot. It may sound silly, but it has lead to fighting amongst the two. Mark thinks that it should be right by the restrooms, so people can have a cup of coffee along with their bathroom break. Jill thinks that it should be in the conference room, so people in a meeting or on their break can have coffee then. This conflict has risen into anger between the two. It is time to take action. The first thing that they should do is calm down. When they are cooled off, they should talk about their opinions to one another and address the problem. Instead of being angry and making mean statements, they should make those statements into requests. They can also look at the neutral side of where to place the coffee pot. This example is a little hard to describe on a neutral side, but I can try to make it work... They can decide to place the coffee pot in the neutral zone. It is in the main working room. The center of the small building where everyone can reach it within a minute. They realize that their conflict was easily fixed and decide to, next time, consider each other's point of view before an argument would start. These are strategies that I would start with to get past a conflict... I don't know if they are perfectly correct, but I believe that they could help work past one.
6. What can we learn from historical conflicts to help us work through current U.S. conflicts?
Have you ever heard the phrase that "history will repeat itself"? We should look at this statement and know that past, or historical, conflicts will eventually repeat and know that we can work through current conflicts by looking at the past. If we can find a similarity with a current conflict versus a past conflict, we can use that information from the past conflict to help get through the current one. We can look at how the conflict ended and use that knowledge to end the current conflict. If it ended with a bloody war, one that a country would rather not get into, then we can try to work around that with the other information of that conflict. The way I explained it seems really confusing and competitive, but basically, I mean that we should learn from our mistakes.
7. How has conflict impacted your life?
I am not the kind of person that gets into many conflicts or arguments with others, but I have had many conflicts within myself while I am a gymnast. In gymnastics, a gymnast does many life-endangering skills. I am at a higher level, which means that those skills are more dangerous than they were a couple of years ago. The summer before eighth grade, I fractured and chipped my elbow on the bars while doing a release skill from high bar to low bar. After the two surgeries, I was slightly petrified to continue with the sport. I worked past the strong fears and continued. Gymnastics has made me a stronger person and with those conflicts, I have become an even stronger person, mentally. Even though may days as a gymnast may be coming to an end, since after breaking my arm my dreams of going to the Olympics were over, I have closure and no regrets about making the decision to continue. I have always loved gymnastics. It was something that my mother got me into, and it is something that she loved watching me do. Even though she isn't here anymore, I always think if she was here, I wouldn't want to disappoint her. Getting through these conflicts and going down the right path is one of the most important things that a person can do in their lifetime. I'm glad that I am putting my right foot forward and continuing with my life the right way, confidently.
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