by Rev. Dave Dunn
On February 28, the United States began launching military strikes targeting Iran; apparently without any plan that might consist of objectives, follow-up, implications, etc., etc., etc.
Without going into the complicated details of history, the current authoritarian regime in Iran is in place in response to a previous authoritarian and sometimes repressive regime that was, in part, supported by western democracies.
Many, no doubt, would support regime change in Iran yet when looking at the sweep of history, it generally looks like just one more step in a repeating cycle of violence.
Ironically, the Buddhist monks from Texas concluded their March for Peace just a few weeks before this attack on Iran. Their principal mission of this march was to advocate for peace through acts of loving kindness and compassion in ways that are (obviously) nonviolent.
A colleague of mine was telling me that her mother was expressing both disbelief and dismay that Buddhists, like those marching for peace, bring feathers to a confrontation when others are bringing guns. Yes, they bring feathers; feathers and flowers; and they will continue to bring feathers and flowers when others bring guns.
In a speech to U. S. top military commanders last year, Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “The only people who actually deserve peace are those who are willing to wage war to defend it. That’s why pacifism is so naive and dangerous.” I whole-heartedly disagree. Peace is not shot out of a gun. You will only get peace when you stop waging war and begin to heal the wounds and damage of past wars and violence. It is waging war that is inherently dangerous and naïve; for history shows that it always leads to more violence and war.
Thomas Merton: “There can be no question that unless war is abolished the world will remain constantly in a state of madness.”
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “The choice is not between violence and nonviolence but between nonviolence and nonexistence.”
Perhaps most importantly, nonviolence is necessary in order to create what some might call the Beloved Community; a community where all, even those who disagree with one another, move forward respecting the integrity of relationship – an integrity that can’t be achieved through violence.
Religion professor Douglas Sturm: “The concept of nonviolence is often used merely to designate devices of conflict resolution or techniques of social change that eschew resort to physical violence….That narrow understanding of nonviolence however does not do justice to its full meaning....More broadly understood, nonviolence is…a form of living together. In particular, it is a way of encountering the otherness of the other by which even in moments of aggression and opposition, an effort is made to sustain the fundamental integrity of all parties….”
It is through acts of nonviolence that we can come to “deserve” peace.
Nurture our spirit. Strive for Justice. Transform the world.
Dave
