This past Sunday, July 22, I had the opportunity to spend some time with a number of other folks from the Elmira, NY area, listening to John Dear talk about a life of nonviolence and peace. The event was part of Dear's tour around the country to discuss a commitment to nonviolence based on the teachings and lives of people like Mahatma Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Berrigans and others.
The talk was given after the Liturgy at Mt Savior Monastery just outside of Elmira in Pine City, NY. In many ways, John Dear's talk is an introduction to the concept and philosophy of nonviolence and that is certainly not a bad thing. He spends time walking people through the commitment to nonviolence and a nonviolent life by people like those mentioned above. More importantly he lets people know that a nonviolent life is not about passivity. Its not about putting up with the current state of affairs. He points out and reminds people that a nonviolent life is about speaking up, speaking out and taking action, direct action that many times gets people into, as John Lewis says, good trouble.
No matter how committed someone may be to nonviolence and a nonviolent life, we all need reminders once in awhile. We need to hear from others about why the struggle continues and why it's important. We need to remember friends and neighbors who have fought the fight through the years. But most importantly we need to be reminded that action continues to be necessary. People's actions can include writing, demonstrating, organizing, participating and going to jail as necessary. The reality is though that a nonviolent life really requires us to do something in the face of a society and culture that has propagated the concept of violence, racism, sexism, etc. Violence against others has been justified and romanticized to the point of almost universal acceptance.
John Dear also reminds us that nonviolence has to be worked on constantly. We stumble and fall in living our nonviolent lives, especially in these times of extreme partisanship and extreme personalities. It has become easier to speak in hateful language. It has become easier to ignore opponents. It has become easier to hate those we don't agree with. John helps people to understand that a nonviolent life is an ongoing challenge that has to be worked on regularly.
You can learn more about John Dear and Campaign Nonviolence here.
