With the increasingly escalating calls for violence, I find myself thinking about Mahatma Gandhi. Threats of violence and violence itself will not solve our nation's problems: economic crisis, racism, classism, and an arrogance that is uniquely "American."
As Gandhi would say, "I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent."
Please follow me past the fold.
I am too young to remember the deaths of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy. However, like many parents, I had to find words to explain to my young children the events of September 11, 2001.
On that day, I promised my third grade son that, no matter what happened, he would always be loved. That anger, hatred, and even death could not and would not separate him from the power of love.
As the election approaches, I am following the activities of the McCain campaign with increasing horror: horror that the Senator seems unable to understand the potential violence behind his rallies; horror that his running mate DOES seem to understand, yet doesn't care about the potential horrific outcomes.
If violence erupts in our nation, what will we tell our children?
I end with that simple question and these quotations from Gandhi:
"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
"Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love."
"Democracy is an impossible thing until the power is shared by all, but let not democracy degenerate into mobocracy."
Thank you for listening.
--Becky