I'm not as hopeful as Amy Gofton is in her article “A Peaceful Revolution.” Sure, there were many revolutions in 2011, but the world is not a stranger to revolutions. We had the Atlantic Revolutions in the late 18th century, when America, France, and Haiti liberated themselves from oppression. We had post-WWII Communist revolutions, when many Eastern European and Asian countries were lit up in fiery red. We had the Revolutions of 1989, when the world witnessed the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. In the past year, we have had the Arab Spring uprisings, Russian election protests, and the Occupy Wall Street movement. Frankly, I don't see much difference.

Every generation is marred by hatred and bloodshed. Every time, we believe our actions will change the future and that there will be no more conflicts. That's what happened during World War I. It was called “the war to end all wars,” but little did they know that it would soon be followed by World War II, which would eclipse it in both scope and casualties.

I'm convinced that as long as the human race survives, this cycle of violence will continue. Call me a pessimist or a skeptic or whatever, but I believe that this past year of revolutions will be just another bullet point on the list of revolutionary waves that have rocked the world.