Peace through fear?
I grew up in the United States often under the tutelage of the Southern Baptist Church and a family, which seem to take the message of obedience through fear very seriously. Neither Church School nor my parents suggested that we should, as do Quakers, sit and wait for discernment. There were clear rules and the goal was to learn to obey the rules. If one did not obey both the spirit and the specifics of the Ten Commandments then God would be very angry and would punish one.
One was constantly reminded of Old Testament lessons such as Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.”
We live in a country, which is noted for its belief in the efficacy of punishment. We consistently send more people to jail, keep them longer and have a higher recidivism rate that other so called developed nations. We continue to have capital punishment in many states and have a president who has recommended its use be extended.
John Bolton is alleged to have recently told someone from Sky News: “The surest way to avoid conflict is to have a strong military capability.” Former President Barrack Obama seemed to echo similar sentiment when recently talking about our relationship with North Korea. The former Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton and presidential candidate seemed to advocate a strong military stance as a way of forcing people to the negotiating table.
The March for Our Lives this past weekend focused on reducing availability of certain guns and keeping them out of the hands of unhealthy people. Its message was not the message of non- violence with Martin Luther King Jr. advocated. Although there was some alliance between the March organizers and those concerned about the use of police deadly force, I did not hear a clear message that it is time for the so called adults in this nation to consider a non- violent approach to local, national and international issues. Even while the March was being organized Stephon Clark was shot by Sacramento Police 20 times when he was in his back yard. True, someone had committed a crime. True the police mistook his phone for a gun. True, the police have a difficult job. They are often criticized for using too much force and for not using enough force.
Yet, even when force is necessary does it need to be deadly force?
If we feel threated, mistreated, or just unhappy with someone’s behavior we as a nation seem to be particularly fond of force or threat of force. We seem to honestly believe that humans will only “behave” if they are fearful of adverse treatment; that humans are not inherently good; that we are inherently bad and must be forced into decent behavior.
What if this is not true? What if humans are inherently good and designed to be interconnected with each other working as a “we”? What if fear and bully behavior only brings short-term peace? What if the history of our treatment of Native Americans, Women, African American and other groups only temporarily temper anger and resentment? What if the primary problem is our sincere belief in the efficacy of violence? If violence or the threat of violence is all that will keep us humans in line or get our attention then are school shooters and others who murders merely following our example?
I deeply respect and commend the young people who organized the March for Life. I deeply appreciate their focus on registering to vote and taking over the leaderships of this country. I deep respect their push to ban some weapons and increase background checks. Yet, I challenged them to take another step in exploring the ideology of non-violence.
Written March 26, 2018
I grew up in the United States often under the tutelage of the Southern Baptist Church and a family, which seem to take the message of obedience through fear very seriously. Neither Church School nor my parents suggested that we should, as do Quakers, sit and wait for discernment. There were clear rules and the goal was to learn to obey the rules. If one did not obey both the spirit and the specifics of the Ten Commandments then God would be very angry and would punish one.
One was constantly reminded of Old Testament lessons such as Psalm 111:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever.”
We live in a country, which is noted for its belief in the efficacy of punishment. We consistently send more people to jail, keep them longer and have a higher recidivism rate that other so called developed nations. We continue to have capital punishment in many states and have a president who has recommended its use be extended.
John Bolton is alleged to have recently told someone from Sky News: “The surest way to avoid conflict is to have a strong military capability.” Former President Barrack Obama seemed to echo similar sentiment when recently talking about our relationship with North Korea. The former Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton and presidential candidate seemed to advocate a strong military stance as a way of forcing people to the negotiating table.
The March for Our Lives this past weekend focused on reducing availability of certain guns and keeping them out of the hands of unhealthy people. Its message was not the message of non- violence with Martin Luther King Jr. advocated. Although there was some alliance between the March organizers and those concerned about the use of police deadly force, I did not hear a clear message that it is time for the so called adults in this nation to consider a non- violent approach to local, national and international issues. Even while the March was being organized Stephon Clark was shot by Sacramento Police 20 times when he was in his back yard. True, someone had committed a crime. True the police mistook his phone for a gun. True, the police have a difficult job. They are often criticized for using too much force and for not using enough force.
Yet, even when force is necessary does it need to be deadly force?
If we feel threated, mistreated, or just unhappy with someone’s behavior we as a nation seem to be particularly fond of force or threat of force. We seem to honestly believe that humans will only “behave” if they are fearful of adverse treatment; that humans are not inherently good; that we are inherently bad and must be forced into decent behavior.
What if this is not true? What if humans are inherently good and designed to be interconnected with each other working as a “we”? What if fear and bully behavior only brings short-term peace? What if the history of our treatment of Native Americans, Women, African American and other groups only temporarily temper anger and resentment? What if the primary problem is our sincere belief in the efficacy of violence? If violence or the threat of violence is all that will keep us humans in line or get our attention then are school shooters and others who murders merely following our example?
I deeply respect and commend the young people who organized the March for Life. I deeply appreciate their focus on registering to vote and taking over the leaderships of this country. I deep respect their push to ban some weapons and increase background checks. Yet, I challenged them to take another step in exploring the ideology of non-violence.
Written March 26, 2018
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