There have been so many great people in history that it is a challenge to pick one but still some stand out more than the others due to their relevance to the times we live in. One such person is Mahatma Gandhi and he especially inspires me due to his embrace of nonviolence. I am an avid reader and followers of news and the more I become knowledgeable about subjects such as politics and history, the greater my admiration is for Gandhi.
The history over the last century should convince us that nonviolence and not use of power is the key to peace and economic and social progress. Violence only leads to never ending cycle of hate and revenge. Use of power or diplomacy may restore order but such peace is always temporary in nature because ego and pride keeps thirst for revenge alive. This is why conflicts such as those between India and Pakistan and Israel and Palestine are still alive after decades because some have deluded themselves into thinking they will eventually emerge victorious in the fighting.

One the other hand, Japan serves as a great example of what can be achieved by embracing nonviolence. Japan had economically been destroyed in the WWII and there was social chaos everywhere but the country renounced military mentality and in few decades, it was an economic power and the envy of the whole world. Nelson Mandela in South Africa also showed us how nonviolence may result in long struggle but it will eventually lead to long-lasting peace as we today see in South Africa.

The world has made a huge progress in economic terms due to globalization but unfortunately it has not become that much safer. Only by embracing the ideology of nonviolence whose principles Gandhi advocated and were later embraced by visionaries like Mandela and King, can we make the world safer and worthy of living for our future generations.