As members of the
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), we look to the Sermon on the Mount and
Quaker writings to express our total rejection of war. Jesus said: «But I say
to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may
be children of your Father in Heaven." To those who profess to follow
Jesus and to live by his teachings, «Love your enemies" is an inescapable
demand, to be applied in personal relations, in communities, states, and among
nations.
Over the centuries,
individuals and nations have largely ignored those words, yet they still speak
eloquently to a bleeding world In 1660, English Quakers presented to King
Charles n their declaration of belief regarding war and military action:
"We utterly deny all outward wars and strife, and fighting with outward
weakens, for any end, or under any pretense whatsoever; this is our testimony
to the whole world "
Today we find
those words fresh and authentic. Yet we recognize that many Americans equate
pacifism with the absence of action. "You can't expect us to stand by and
do nothing, " they say. This is less an indictment of pacifism than an
indication of the inability of most people to think beyond war.
The immediate
response to the horrifying events of September 11, 2001 was to begin a
worldwide, never-ending war on terrorism. No one can predict the outcome, how
it will prevent future acts of terrorism, nor how long it may last.
Now, Palestinians
and Israelis are locked in unequal combat that resembles nothing so much as
Greek tragedy. Both sides are right in having legitimate grievances, and wrong
in the means they use to redress those grievances. Violence in answer to
violence has produced only more violence. When vengeance masquerades as
justice, the result is destruction and death, leaving increased bitterness,
fresh retaliation and new acts of terrorism. Such policies are morally bankrupt
and pragmatically futile.
Here at home the
Bush administration has proposed several measures that would help to remove the
causes of war: revitalization of the Peace Corps, the use of our immense
financial power to dry up the funds of terrorist organi7~tions, and a
"Marshall Plan" for Afghanistan. In recent weeks, Secretary of State
Colin Powell has tried heroically to broker a cease-fire between Israelis and
Palestinians. We commend these moves.
Yet we remain
convinced that military action is counterproductive and eventually negates most
peace- building initiatives. Terrorism is an outgrowth of poor education and
the hopelessness that faces millions of people from birth. Bombings, killings,
and detentions will do nothing to reduce poverty or improve housing, education
or health care among the world's poor.
In 1693, William
Penn wrote: “A good end cannot sanctify evil means, nor must we ever do evil,
that good may come of it." We cannot separate a goal, no matter how lofty,
from the means used to achieve it If peace is our goal, then we must choose
non-violent means to achieve it. There is no way to peace; peace is the way.
Campus Friends
Meeting. Wilmington. Ohio
Sent by Frances
Wilkn
Recording Clerk,
Peace & Social Concerns Committee
Of Wilmington
Society of Friends