Cultivating a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence in the Face of Tragedy (Page 2 of 2)
August 7, 2008By:
Steve said a culture of violence is one in which we agree that, ultimately, we settle things by killing people. Governments do it, usually calling it war, and it’s no mystery that the concept trickles down.
Most of us have had angry moments when we wish we could just DO SOMETHING that would settle things like John Wayne used to. But there is some restraint inside our heads that says, “this far and no further;” there’s a line we know we shouldn’t cross, not just because we fear punishment, but because we know it’s not right.
Society has ways of trying to draw that line in our heads beginning when we’re little, with a thousand messages delivered by parents, teachers, clergy, authority figures. But the line has grown less inviolable, less indelible, less uncrossable in the last decades. As our culture grows more violent, the line slips, and more and more people are unable to recognize the line — for some, it ceases to exist, or they create a justification for crossing it, and they go off.
This is how things work in a culture of violence.
Did easy access to guns cause the shooting at TVUUC? No. Did violent video games? No. The war in Iraq? No. Denial of food stamps? No. Personal pain? No. Relentless images of violence in TV and movie entertainment? No. Nuclear arsenals and the trillions spent on them? Nope. Right-wing rants on the radio or in print? No. Unrestricted access to deadly ammunition? No. The glorification of violence in recreation? No. Misogyny? No.
But what about all these apparently unconnected things put together? What if all of these things and more are present, what if this is the culture that surrounds a person who is already struggling? What if it looks to him like violence is not abhorred by this culture, but accepted and, in some ways, celebrated?
The mystery, really, may not be so much why this has happened, except for the here and now of it — the mystery really may be why it doesn’t happen more often.
The night after the shooting, more than 1,000 people gathered in the pounding rain of a violent storm for a vigil at Second Presbyterian Church. People spoke words of consolation, hope, solidarity, good words. There was music. And candles.
These symbols of hope not only sustain us in difficult times — they are the way to a better future. The candles are light itself, a symbol of hope, the end of darkness and despair. The words expressed feelings — sorrow and grief, determination and resilience. The music called forth the spirit to dare to breathe again, summoning our better selves to this tragic moment. But the most powerful symbol was simply in the gathering. From every faith community and from no faith community at all, the sanctuary filled, the balcony filled, the overflow rooms filled, the hallways packed to be within hearing range.
The service itself was brief, and when it ended, the real work of the evening began as people moved through the various rooms and hallways, finding friends, greeting strangers, hugging, talking, weeping, laughing. Former members who drove all day to get to the service, people who visited TVUUC, people who had never been in the church.
The community understood that we are the resource we need to stand against the power of violence and to forge a different future.
Great courage will be required to insist on a change in our culture — to insist that our leaders take responsibility for creating a different culture here, one we cannot even fully envision yet.
I believe that courage will come from members of TVUUC and their friends. I believe people will begin to talk about the need to create a culture of peace and nonviolence, and then will begin to act. Many organizations and institutions in our community are already quietly working to overcome the forces of violence in our community, from task forces on domestic violence to the economic violence of a tax system that is unfair to poor people. Some have already been working to create a space for a community discussion and have been preparing for several months a plan to declare next year a Year for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence in our city.
It is in these efforts that our hope for the future lies. There is no limit on participation; a culture of peace and nonviolence will celebrate creativity and be inclusive. Watch for the signs, and get involved!
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