NP Terrorism and Nonviolence

[Doug Millison]

http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11565

Terrorism and Nonviolence 
Arun Gandhi, The M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
September 24, 2001

"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, D.C. on September 11 many have written or
called the Gandhi Institute 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. 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
with everyone 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 founded the M. K. Gandhi Institute for
Nonviolence in 1991 in honor of his grandfather. He
writes and lectures on nonviolence throughout the
world


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