Taking a Stand

Time to consider my relationship to my government.  I have had perhaps the perfect storm of data called to my attention within the last week.  First, Thich Nhat Hanh’s penetrating commentary on activism, responsibility, government and love in Peace is Every Step (“A Loveletter to your Congressman” and “Citizenship”), followed by a quick read of Mohsin Hamid’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, followed by an invitation to participate in the first Women in Black vigil in Corrales, followed by part 1 of the John Adams special on HBO.  Especially as citizens of the US, where we consider ourselves a beacon of democracy, it is the right and responsibility of citizens to have a say in how we are governed.  It is also our responsibility to remain civil, to have courteous discourse, and to balance individual and special interest needs with the good of the whole, and at the same time remembering to be a world citizen as opposed to an isolationist nation. 

Rage resolves little, and simply leads to more strife.  It is a medium of last resort.  One of the most powerful scenes in John Adams is when he is defending British soldiers who fired into a crowd after being intolerably provoked (and misled by a counterfeit order from the mob to fire their weapons).  Even though the sentiment of the citizens of Boston is against the troops, they are exonerated through application of the law.  This is what differentiates us from dictatorships and mob rule.

Equally, Hamid’s thoughtful book reminds us that the US is not caretaker of the one and only “correct” worldview.  Emotions have cooled somewhat since 9/11, but he raises serious questions being raised about the “purity” of the US decisions following the attacks (and leading up to the attacks).  Does a Pakistani have any less right to love his country and to be concerned when his friends and family are put in harm’s way by governments of other nations?  It is a good book and one that reminded me that I need to critically examine my relationship with my government, my work, and the others that make up the infrastructure in which I live.

 I finished Hamid’s book the night before the first Women in Black vigil, and it was a simple decision to attend.  (Women in Black is a world-wide network of women committed to peace with justice and actively opposed to injustice, war, militarism and other forms of violence.)  It was interesting to see the results.  We had a lot of people wave, honk, smile and indicate support.  Some people looked straight ahead as they drove past.  The single outstanding dissenter provided a display of his middle finger as he drove past – which some might consider offensive, disrespectful, and utterly incapable of moving the discussion forward.  Nonetheless, it is a good example of how some people feel more comfortable with hostile confrontation.  Why talk when you can be hateful instead? 

Our nation has not put forward a consistent and coherent rationale for our actions in Iraq, and we are now in the middle of a tar-baby from which we find it more and more difficult to extract ourselves.  Viet Nam should have been a better lesson for those in power today, but I fear our entanglement in Iraq is even less over ideals and more over the financial gain of a few than Viet Nam, with the same disastrous results to our loyal troops that have to be in the middle of it (as well as to our economy).  And we forget Afghanistan, a possibly more “righteous” action where there might have been some positive effect if we could have maintained our focus there. 

This blog is about taking responsibility. It is important to stop and think and become part of the discussion.  History has taught us that freedom is not won or preserved through oppression.  No more than at the time of the war for independence can we afford to let others make our decisions for us as this very important time in our nation’s story.  Not everyone will agree with me, but I hope that everyone will afford me the right to think for myself and to stand up for what I believe.  I want to believe that we can pay thoughtful and honest attention to each others’ concerns, in the hopes of making a saner, safer and more responsible world.

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Tags: peace, responsibility, Women in Black