Ok, I lifted this from the Jul/Aug issue of Fellowhip,
http://www.forusa.org/fellowship/jul-aug-04/carney.html published by FOR (Fellowship of Reconcilliation), one of the oldest non-violent organizations in the coutry. I found it encouraging. (I don't know if that's a copyright infringement, I hope not. I'm giving credit and links. Maybe someone knows the legal story and can enlighten me.)
I just finished a 2 day non-violent basic training with FOR. I hightly recommend this training to EVERYONE. http://www.forusa.org/programs/nvtraining/basic_schedule.html
While I know our culture to be plagued by violence, I none-the-less had a profound epiphany about it this weekend, like a fish suddenly aware it lives in water and will never live apart from it. The other piece/peace of the epiphany however, is that non-violence is our true nature.
And particularly for those who are progressive people of Faith - non-violence is many things, but most essencially it is an extension of spiritual practice. For while I cannot escape the nature of this world [of violence], I can, like Christ, strive to be "in this world [of violence] but not of this world [of violence]". The daily practice of non-violence is the means.
I return from the training feeling joyful, empowered and at peace. Which is pretty different than how I felt 2 days ago. I will write more about my weekend in the upcoming days, including what I learned about war tax resistance. For now...
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A Time for Radical Trust
by Teddy Carney
It is a dark time and yet a time filled with challenge and promise, a time for radical trust.
Concern for the fate of our nation lingers on like the worry for a very sick friend. Daily life tumbles along, intersected with moments of anxiety. An anthropologist friend told us his niece's family has left the country to sail the seas, home-schooling the kids till the Bush administration is gone. (We know two other couples who have left the country for the same reason.) My friend described how depressing it is to watch a civilization unravel, especially when it is your own. We know many people who feel the same way.
What is astonishing is how many good Americans are not concerned about the direction of our country, how many think Bush is doing a good job. Howard Zinn, a noted historian, commented that if the American people actually knew the negative effect of some of our policies, they would reject administrations that pursue them.
... We don't hear about the suicides among our troops, their growing fear and disgust over being in a no-win situation. There is no mention of the thousands of wounded; those who die of wounds are not counted on the "lost in action" list. Why the hatred and violence escalate is rarely questioned. Our thrust for domination is not part of mainstream discussion, nor is the part transnational corporations play in our foreign policy.
Nevertheless, out of the darkness of despair and fear, a positive energy is arising. As the English poet David Whyte said, we may one day thank the Bush administration for catapulting us into a higher level of consciousness as a result of its rush to military approaches. Certainly it was the Internet response to Bush's aggression that made the peace movement coalesce--fifteen million people around the globe pleading for peace, for "another way."
What is immensely hopeful is to feel connected to the groundswell that is occurring. There are increasing numbers of groups using the Internet, building the peace loop--moveon.org, truthout.org, voice4change.org, oriononline.org, commoncause.org, dozens of them, working without salary, inspired and sustained by the desire to serve the truth. I have a good friend who started a radio program, Making Contact, which has grown to 168 stations (including, now, one in Japan). According to one of the show's interviews, a group of young people originating among the 400,000 street children in New Delhi has taken up old tape recorders and microphones to create Butterflies Broadcasting Station, proclaiming the children's plight. The group has started the first labor union for child workers in the world. It's one more example of the voice of the people becoming the next superpower.
New Dimensions, the radio show that interviews leaders like the Dalai Lama and prominent, innovative people from all fields, is expanding. The Institute of Noetic Sciences has 30,000 members, many of whom are scientists and intellectuals concerned with the marriage of technology and the spirit. The Institute's quarterly journal lists a remarkable number of websites promoting peace, conflict management, and forgiveness, all grounded in the idea that we belong to one human family.
Physicists, teachers, scientific groups, world leaders like Nelson Mandela, environmentalists, students, activists--all are presenting "another way," a way that requires our imagination and trust and energy. Concerned people everywhere seek a glimpse of a larger vision, the 2,000-year point of view. Ideas are criss-crossing our country and reaching other seeking, longing people around the world. And out of this emerging energy and hope will come new approaches, new ways of living on this planet together.
I believe it is the most exciting time in all of history to be alive. I pray that I am around long enough to see the fruition of what must come. I'm not talking about a utopia, the reversal of human avarice and aggression. I'm anticipating a new understanding of our individual and communal needs, a new focus on the common good for all beings, a new perception of our interconnectedness.
In spite of the immense power of governing elites, all dynasties that enrich the few at the expense of the many must eventually implode. As Yahweh said in the Old Testament, "All I need is a remnant." Margaret Mead said the same thing sixty years ago. The imagination of a few will ignite us and make the great leaps in consciousness possible.
May each of us hear the call, seek the truth, and become a small part of the inevitable awakening. q
Teddy Carney is a rancher and essayist in New Mexico.This reflection originally appeared in Radical Grace, published by the Center for Action and Contemplation (May-June 2003). Used with permission. www.cacradicalgrace.org.
©2004 Fellowship of Reconciliation
