someone made a good point-- about whether if it were *my* family who were being tortured, killed, etc.. would i still feel the same?
now, how am i working towards non-violence? i am a member of a non-violence group in eugene. i am studying gandhi and his principles of satyagraha. gandhi was a man ahead of his time, of this time. i look towards the dalai lama as my example. we can all work towards this, if only you believe. a couple of good non-violence links: the m.k. gandhi institute for non-violence and the dalai lama. further i highly recommend the conquest of violence: the gandhian philosophy of conflict by joan bondurant. that and gandhi's auto-biography are the 2 best reads on satyagraha. and yes, non-violence works.. it worked to free the people of india from the empire of the british. but it only works if you believe in it.. if you choose to give into violence you only continue the cycle.
and on that note. i'm outta here.
Comments
That's so kewl that you & your mom have that agreement. I love it. And I do hope that, heaven forbid, something happens to you, we'll know about it and we can help your mom in her efforts in your name. Be careful out there and hope it's relaxing!
Posted by Roni at April 4, 2003 5:19 PM
You raise a good point.
But your pro-war people should ask themselves a similar question :- How would you feel if you had relatives in Iraq?
(Actually, those of us who are anti-war should also ask ourselves the same question. There are no easy answers).
I have friends in New York City and live in London, both potential terrorist targets; I also have friends in the Middle East, in Jordan. There are no easy answers. We all need to remember our humanity.
Posted by steven at April 4, 2003 7:51 PM
Believe it or not, I feel the same way Brooke. I would not want anyone to react violently if I were killed in a terrorist act. I can't say though, how I would feel if someone I loved was killed that way because I have never had to deal with that.
I can't say how I would feel about this war or terrorists if I lived in NYC after 9/11, because while I watched it all, over and over, and I saw the horror, I wasn't there to feel the terror. I watched in the safety of my living room, in a home far away from it all.
I also can't say how I would feel if I lived a life under the rule of someone like Saddam because I have never had to deal with that. I don't know what it's like to live with fear every single day of my life, or fear for the safety of my family every single moment of my life.
My point is, the reality of a situation is often different when you experience it yourself. I believe you have to literally "walk a mile" in someone's shoes before you can really understand what is it that motivates people's feelings.
No one LIKES this war. I wish, just like you, that things could have been settled peacefully. No matter what the "ulterior motives" of this war are, the fact remains that hopefully people will be free of Saddam Hussain and maybe then we can "go beyond" the violence and work for a peaceful existence with the people of Iraq. That's when we can move past the safety of our living rooms and demand that our country do more than they did in Afghanistan. Maybe then we can go over to Iraq and show them that not all Americans are "ugly." And maybe then, peaceful coexistence can really start.
Debbie
And yes, I admit I am no scholar. I am just someone who cares, really cares about people. And I know that we can't cure all the ills of the world, but does that mean we should turn on our backs on it all, say it's none of our business, and walk away hoping they will find a way to work it out peacefully? I know if it were me in a situation like that I would hope and pray that someone "out there" cared enough to do something to help. And I don't think I would care too much about what their "ulterior motives" were.
Posted by Debbie at April 5, 2003 8:15 PM
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