Pointing the way
We are in the midst of the month of Ramadan, a sacred time for those of the Islamic faith. It is a time of fasting, prayer, and reflection in community. As millions of Muslims pause the rhythms of daily life to reflect on faith and moral obligations, the rest of the world seems propelled toward a madness of mass destruction.
The level of violence we are inflicting on one another, in its ferocity and duration, is unprecedented since the end of the last global war nearly a century ago. From Haiti, Ukraine, and Gaza to our streets and bedrooms, violent assault and death are commonplace. Meanwhile ecosystems are collapsing at an ever-accelerating rate and the land and waters that support life are shifting toward disruption. The desire to protect ourselves, as individuals isolated from community, is driving those in authority to make decisions that only intensify these crises. Operating on the belief that more force will somehow bring peace; our government is in the absurd position of providing weapons with one hand and “humanitarian aid” with the other.
At such a time, it seems obvious that we need much more than a cease fire. Once the fighting stops, where will we be? Once the bombs stop killing, what will we do?
This moment demands far more of us than temporary solutions. It is a call from the very depths of the earth and the souls of those lost that we shift radically from how we have been living.
We in the US have a critical role to play in making this shift toward a just future. Certainly, much of the violence of the world is made possible by the weapons we provide, by the military forces we maintain, and by the encouragement of leaders who prefer war to peace.
Such a shift is not a fantasy, but an imperative. Nor are we without guidance for the choices in front of us. More than 60 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Speaking in Oslo, at a time of accelerating violence, he said:
Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace …This award … is a profound recognition that nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral question of our time – the need ... to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to violence and oppression. Civilization and violence are antithetical concepts…Nonviolence is not sterile passivity, but a powerful moral force which makes for social transformation. Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace... If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
King went on to affirm his faith in our capacity to make a future different from our present. He said:
“I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. I believe that even amid today’s mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow.
This thinking led Dr. King a few years later to call for a radical revolution of values, the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. This call was based on a view of life where people’s basic needs were protected, and their dignity affirmed. He said:
I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up.
We have a rich legacy of people pointing the way toward peace and justice, toward new ways of living together and with our earth. Reflecting on these prophets can guide us to actions for a better future.