Pacifism

[Toby G Levy]

The M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence was founded in 1991 by
the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Arun Gandhi, and his wife, Sunanda.

TERRORISM AND NONVIOLENCE BY Arun Gandhi

"When in despair I remember that all through history the way of
truth and love has always won; there have been tyrants and murderers,
and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always
fall." M.K. Gandhi

Understandably, after the tragedy in New York and Washington DC on
September 11 many have written or called the office to find out
what would be an appropriate nonviolent response to such an
unbelievably inhuman act of violence.

First, we must understand that nonviolence is not a strategy that
we can use in times of peace and discard in a moment of crisis.

Nonviolence is about personal attitudes, about becoming the change
we wish to see in the world.  Because, a nation's collective attitude
is based on the attitude of the individual. Nonviolence is about
building positive relationships with all human beings + relationships
that are based on love, compassion, respect, understanding and
appreciation.

Nonviolence is also about not judging people as we perceive them
to be + that is, a murderer is not born a murderer; a terrorist is
not born a terrorist. People become murderers, robbers and terrorists
because of circumstances and experiences in life. Killing or
confining murders, robbers, terrorists, or the like is not going
to rid this world of them. For every one we kill or confine we
create another hundred to take their place.  What we need to do is
dispassionately analyze both the circumstances that create such
monsters and how we can help eliminate those circumstances.  Focusing
our efforts on the monsters, rather than what creates the monsters,
will not solve the problems of violence. Justice should mean
reformation and not revenge.

We saw some people in Iraq and Palestine and I dare say many other
countries rejoicing over the tragedies at the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon. It horrified us, as it should. But let us not
forget that we do the same thing.  When Israel bombs the Palestinians
we either rejoice or show no compassion.  Our attitude is that they
deserve what they get. When the Palestinians bomb the Israelis we
are indignant and condemn them as vermin who need to be eliminated.

We reacted without compassion when we bombed the cities of Iraq.

I was among the millions in the United States who sat glued to the
television and watched the drama as though it was a made for
television film. Thousands of innocent men, women and children were
being blown to bits and, instead of feeling sorry for them, we
marveled at the efficiency of our military. For more than ten years
we have continued to wreak havoc in Iraq + an estimated 50,000
children die every year because of sanctions that we have imposed
+ and it hasn't moved us to compassion. All this is done, we are
told, because we want to get rid of the Satan called Sadam Hussein.

Now we are getting ready to do this all over again to get rid of
another Satan called Osama bin Laden. We will bomb the cities of
Afghanistan because they harbor the Satan and in the process we
will help create a thousand other bin Ladens.

Some might say, "We don't care what the world thinks of us as long
as they respect our strength. After all we have the means to blow
this world to pieces since we are the only surviving super-power."

I question whether we want other countries to respect us the way
school children respect a bully.  Is that our role in the world?

If a bully is what we want to be then we must be prepared to face
the same consequences that a school-yard bully faces. On the other
hand we cannot tell the world "leave us alone." Isolationism is
not what this world is built for.

All of this brings us back to the question: How do we respond
nonviolently to terrorism?

The consequences of a military response are not very rosy. Many
thousands of innocent people will die both here and in the country
or countries we attack. Militancy will increase exponentially and,
ultimately, we will be faced with other more pertinent moral
questions: What will we gain by destroying half the world? Will we
be able to live with a clear conscience?

We must acknowledge our role in helping to create monsters in the
world, find ways to contain these monsters without hurting more
innocent people, and then redefine our role in the world. I think
we must move from seeking to be respected for our military strength
to being respected for our moral strength.

We need to appreciate that we are in a position to play a powerful
role in helping the "other half" of the world attain a better
standard of life not by throwing a few crumbs but by significantly
involving ourselves in constructive economic programs.

For too long our foreign policy has been based on "what is good
for the United States." It smacks of selfishness. Our foreign policy
should now be based on what is good for the world and how can we
do the right thing to help the world become more peaceful.

To those who have lost loved one's in this and other terrorist acts
I say I share your grief. I am sorry that you have become victims
of senseless violence. But let this sad episode not make you vengeful
because no amount of violence is going to bring you inner peace.

Anger and hate never do. The memory of those victims who have died
in this and other violent incidents around the world will be better
preserved and more meaningfully commemorated if we all learn to
forgive. Let us dedicate our lives to creating a peaceful, respectful
and understanding world.

Arun Gandhi
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