Pacifism

In an age of growing militarism and religious fanatacism, those seeking an alternative vision for life on this planet might look to the simple ideal of pacifism.

Pacifism is the belief that war and violence cannot and should not be used as a way of solving disputes. Like any other type of human action, the use of war and violence is a learned behavior. When we are born, we arrive onto a planet that has been mired in warfare for at least the last 6,000 years; even today, the battle grounds of ancient Mesopotamia are being rebaptized in the blood of 21st century warfare. Because we grow up in communities and nations which have forgotten the value of peace and non-violence, we stop questioning the insane levels of coercion and oppression which continue unabated across much of the Earth.

But because these behaviors are learned, it means that it is eminently possible to discard war as a way of life and to embrace the basic tenets of a peaceful existence.

The roots of pacifism are spiritual. The pacifist realizes that she cannot change the world — but she can change herself. Thus, the first act of the pacifist is to cease judging others and to start examining herself. The pacifist picks herself up from her perch on the window, looking at the world, and instead decides to look in a mirror and, at least for a few moments, study her reflection.

By calming her mind and observing her motivations, her thoughts, and her emotions, the pacifist begins to see the violence that she enacts against herself at every moment of every day — her self-criticisms, her harsh attitudes towards her persona, her lack of concern for her basic psychological and physical well being. The pacifist begins to realize that her greatest enemy is not somewhere in the outside world; rather, her greatest enemy is within her. She realizes that for her whole life, she has been engaged in a never-ending struggle with an untrained and hostile mind. It has clouded her perceptions and caused her great levels of suffering.

And then the pacifist does something, in one instant, that contributes more to world peace than what other people might accomplish in a lifetime: she stops the war in her mind, and ends her self-hatred. She accepts who she is, with all her flaws and imperfections.

Then, suddenly, the illusions of modern society — the fleeting desires of consumerism, the perpetual quest for wealth and status that pervade the lives of so many people — fade into the background and never return. By ending the war in herself, the pacifist begins to see what is truly real. She sees how violence infects the minds of other people and causes them to initiate tremendous atrocities against fellow members of the human race. But she does not hate those who are under violence’s spell; instead, she acknowledges that they, too, remain at war with themselves, and that this is why they are so easily lulled to commit horrible deads. She understands the basic truth that there is war on this planet because there is war in the minds and hearts of a great many people.

And then, once more, the pacifist realizes something quite simple yet profound: it is not within her power to end the battles that are waged between tanks, mortars, and aircraft thousands of miles away, but she can end the wars and conflicts that exist around her, in her immediate vicinity. Just as she has made peace with herself, she can make peace with her friends, families, and neighbors. Just as she has accepted her own flaws and imperfections, she too begins to accept and love the various personalities that surround her, cultivating the beauty and harmony of each of her individual relationships.

Over a lifetime, this cultivation of peace — having been initiated by one lonely soul — will resonate and spread far beyond the borders of her own skin into the lives of others. Like a light in a room full of shadows, the warmth and brightness of this one tiny spark of peace might have dramatic effects.

In a world of war, there is no law other than the Law of Might: whoever has the biggest gun will win. But in a world of peace, there is no law other than the Law of Right: that every person be left alone to love and work as she sees fit, so long as she does no harm to another. In many ways, the Law of Right is the only rule that any society might need in order to effectively function, because it speaks to the essential nature of human love and human liberity. Is it not the case that humans seek out others for companionship, even while they carve out their own unique individualities? Does not the balance of love and liberty speak to our rights — our rights to free speech, to be respected, to have privacy, to be who we want — and also to our duties — to care for our fellow human, to honor our ancestors and descendants, to do no harm to others? The pacifist understands this balance and realizes that we need no law other than this law, and no government other than self-government.

Violence cannot be conquered. Just as Cain, in smiting his brother Abel, only condemned himself to further misery, any attempt to battle the scourge of violence with its weapons — domination, war, coercion — is doomed to failure. Violence can only be ended, its urges and motivations accepted by anyone brave enough to peer into the looking glass and observe what it might reveal. Pacifists realize that peace and war are choices that are made at every moment; they have simply decided to choose peace. And if more people make that choice for themselves, starting with themselves, there might be some hope for this species and planet after all.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 14th, 2006 at 10:26 am and is filed under Alternative Living, Freedom and Democracy, Freedom and Spiritualism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.