The causes and roots of violence are the subject of endless debates. Whenever we look back at our history, to the point we have managed to reach, violent and aggressive behavior can easily be traced. The stories of people who have committed such acts indicate that violence and aggression are part of human civilization from the primitive lives of yesterday to our modern lives of today. What is aggression? “Aggression is behavior characterized by strong self-assertion with hostile or harmful tones. In some circumstances, aggression may be a normal reaction to a threat. Alternatively, it may be abnormal, unprovoked, or reactive behavior” (“Aggression: Causes” bettermedicine.com). What actually causes a violent reaction from a person is not a clear-cut thing to conclude and document because we as humans are different in how we perceive things and react to them (“Aggression: Causes” bettermedicine.com). We may all share some physical characteristics, but mentally we all have different emotions and reactions to whatever we might face. There is a well-known and influential story in literature around the world, known as one of the topics addressing violence in the three Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, namely the story of Cain and Abel. The story of Cain and Abel is cited as the first violent act that led to death. Therefore, Abel is seen as the first martyr. Cain, on the other hand, is represented as the root of murder and evil in general (Nauta, Rein, 2008). In today's world the media is accused by many as a source of violence, but I would like to disagree with their statements because I think the media could influence them, but there must be other factors that push them to commit the act... .. middle of sheet ......, 2001.Merritt, Rob, Brooks Brown. No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind the Deaths at Columbine. New York: Lantern Books, 2002. Print.Nauta, Rein. Cain and Abel: violence, shame and jealousy. OpenAccess: August 8, 2008. Print.Pooley, Eric, et al.” Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold: Portrait of a Deadly Bond. Time.com, May 1999. Web. August 3, 2011. Sung Hong, Jun, et al. The social ecology of the Columbine High School shooting. Elsevier, 2010. Print. Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and Creating a Safe School Climate. Washington DC: US ​​Secret Service and US Department of Education, May 2002. Print.US Bureau of Justice Statistics. Report to the Nation on Crime and Justice, 2nd ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, 1988. Print. “Unemployment rates for states.” bls.gov, July 22, 2011. Web. August1, 2011.