When confronted with conflict, people have response with courage or cowardice When confronted with conflict, it is often faced with difficult, or even threatening, situations. Often when humanity finds itself in conflict, coping with the struggle of interpersonal, cultural and racial, inner or moral conflict can bring either courage or cowardice out in people. This is made evident in Bruce Beresford’s “Paradise Road,” but also in real life situations.

It is naturally human to experience conflict, we will all be forced to respond to conflict at various times and various forms throughout the course of our lives, and in order to live serenely we attempt to avoid and resolve conflict. Those who experience moral conflict are truly tested and the core of their characters brought into sharp focus as they make sense of their experiences and wether the will response with courage or cowardice. For Daniel Morcombe’s family it is the conflict of enduring the type of justice they wanted regards the brutal murder of Daniel that this encompasses. Overcoming the traumatic grieve, they created a website educating people on children's safety. It was this moral conflict of enduring persistent and injustice that these individuals projected their true identities and subsequently, emphasise to society how courage can be found in the worst conflicts.

Whilst conflict merely involve two parties disagreeing over differences of opinion, this interpersonal conflict can bring out either courage or cowardice in people. We have seen throughout history that major conflicts in the form of war and international political unrest, lead many to experience horrific and life-changing conflicts of a larger scale. A recent global example of interpersonal conflict is Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban over her fight for universal education, urged people in war-torn countries to swap guns for pens and focus on schooling their children. Malala’s courageous defiance and remarkable recovery for her encounter with the Taliban has only strengthened her views that “you are not powerful if you have a gun, because with a gun you can only kill. You are powerful when yu have a book, when you have pen because through a pen you can save lives and thats the change we want to bring in our society. This conflict can also be seen in “Paradise Road,” in the film, Susan McCarthy stands up to Mrs Tippler, a diverse woman who constantly criticises the vocal orchestra and who is seen by some to perhaps be in league with the enemy “Japanese.” Through the stories of these people we can see that while conflict can often breed further disagreement and suffering, it may indeed prompt some to act in extraordinary ways that are bigger and more complex than they might have realised themselves.

Cultural and racial conflict certainly brings out the best traits or the outmost worst in people. History teaches that individuals and countries have instigated and fuelled conflict on the context of racial and cultural beliefs, it is the inability to govern these desires that give rise to conflict. This was evident in the collapse of the twin towers, one of the worst memories that still brings tear to the eye of many who witnessed this dreadful moment. In this historical moment, changing lives of many, many cried whilst hundreds died. But this conflict allowed individuals to achieve and define themselves to find courage in this traumatic experience. President George W. Bush delivered historical address, declaring, “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America”, The towers may have brought much conflict down on everyone but it also brought people together. However this conflict America encounter was complex it brought out both the positive values uniting individuals together and the cruellest and inhuman responses. Resulting in America leading an international effort to oust the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and destroy Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network. With the encountering of conflict both courage and cowardice can be seen in people.

That faced with inner conflict the individual has a choice between what is the best and the worst decision in that conflict. Encountering conflict is often portrayed with negative experience by humans, however it is through these experiences in which people discover inner strength that they never knew they possessed, both physically and mentally. Through the discovery of these traits, many people can overcome conflict and create workable solutions to difficult problems, or even make appropriate compromises. A monumental example of this was Rosa Parks “the mother of the freedom movement” , an African-American activist in the time of the black and white segregation, refused to give up her seat in the coloured section of the bus to a white passenger, after the white section was filled. This portray of inner strength sparked the movement of the abolishment of the segregation, empathising an individuals character is found in encountering conflict. An individual greatest challenge faced by this encountering conflict is staying human, however in some cases, theses encountering conflict choose to sacrifice their humanity in order to stay alive. An example of this is from the film “Paradise Road,” for some women who choose to accept better living conditions in the officer;s club or to continue to endure the physical deprivations of the internment camp. For them the inner conflict is whether or not to continue to suffer the extreme discomforts of life as an internee, or engage in a compromising situation of exchanging sexual favours for clean sheets and hot water, with the enemy. At the expense of staying true to their values of national and personal loyalty. Therefore when faced with conflict an individual ultimately determines weather to make the best decision or the worst decision in that conflict.

Conflict emerges as a result of individuals, groups and even nations subjectively relating to their needs, values and interest. It is during these periods of heightened emotions that decisions and actions have the potential to bring out either courage or cowardice in human kind. In the words of Martin Luther King, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”