Sherry Chandler » Some things never change
Some things never change
From Nicholson Baker’s Human Smoke (Simon & Schuster, 2008) :
Someone asked Mohandas Gandhi about English pacificists. It was May 1938.
The problem with the English pacifists, Gandhi said, was that they made moral calculations. “When they speak of pacifism they do so with the mental reservation that when pacifism fails, arms might be used.” A true pacifist never calculated. “Someone has to arise in England with the living faith to say that England, whatever happens, shall not use arms,” said Gandhi. “They are a nation fully armed, and if they having the power deliberately refuse to use arms, theirs will be the first example of Christianity in active practice on a mass scale. That will be a real miracle.”
Of course the miracle never happened, any more than the workers of the world went on general strike to prevent World War I.
Now Condoleeza Rice assures us that she has “achieved the accomplishment” of putting defense missiles in Poland. To protect us. Yet somehow I don’t feel any safer.
Am I brave enough to stand unarmed in the line of fire to prevent this sort of thing? Probably not.
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2 Comments
1. Helen Losse replies at 25th August 2008, 11:29 am :
What a sobering question, Sherry.
“Am I brave enough to stand unarmed in the line of fire to prevent this sort of thing?”
Pacifism calls for it, but western Christianity disallows self-sacrifice (suicide, probably) by defining it as sin or insanity, rather than bravery. That definition has become doctrine and makes their “just war” theory seem smarter every time.
2. MSW replies at 25th August 2008, 1:14 pm :
What a shame that nobody has ever had the courage to act on those words, on a large scale. All these warmongers like Rice keep trying to convince us that another battery of missiles, or more funding for the military is going to protect us. But all that does is steal funding away from things that could actually help the people of this country, and it doesn’t do any damn good anyway. All you have to do is look at a little bit of history to see that relying on military might doesn’t keep you from getting hurt. Instead, I think it only makes people more inclined to attack you.
Also, “achieved the accomplishment”? I think somebody needs to get themselves back to an elementary school grammar class.
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