The Relevance of 'Nonviolence in a New Era'

Tomorrow a dear friend and I will facilitate a day-long nonviolence training entitled "Nonviolence in a New Era." Our goal is to emphasize the need for nonviolent solutions to local, national, and global problems. While many American citizens (not to mention internationals) are basking in the glow of newly elected President Barack Obama, the realities of two brutal occupations, an increasingly dire economic crisis, global food shortages, environmental degradation, and deficient political leadership remain. All passion and 'change' rhetoric aside, real solutions will take the efforts of various sectors of the citizenry coming together (as they did to elect Obama); it will be a bottom-up process.

It is my sincerest belief that these solutions ought to be rooted in the principles of nonviolence. They should build on the radical but nonviolent traditions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Henry David Thoreau, Cesar Chavez, Dorothy Day, and others. Violence begets violence, and as any dedicated peace activist knows, the United States is the world's greatest "purveyor of violence" and has outdone itself since MLK spoke those words on April 4, 1967, exactly one year before he was murdered.

If we are to curb the disastrous results of state- and corporate-sponsored warfare, not to mention the "terrorist" reaction to it, we will need to be as vehemently nonviolent as those actors are violent. We will need to insist on peace as strongly as they insist on war.

We will need tools to combat violence in our world, our country, our neighborhood, our household, and even within ourself. These tools cost far less than what it costs to pursue violent means. Some of these tools will be taught for a modest fee at tomorrow's training. But we hope that the participants do not see our list as exhaustive. As Gandhi said, we are only at the beginning stages of unleashing the full potential of nonviolent action on the world. So much power has still not been realized.

There is no better time for young people to come together under the roof of nonviolence than today. We can only hope that our efforts spread like seeds in the wind. Let them spread to the turbulent communities of Balitmore facing foreclosure and other struggles. Let them spread to the offices of policymakers in Washington and across the nation. Let them spread to households plagued by domestic violence and to schools controlled by gangs and armed security guards.

And let our efforts spread to the innermost thoughts of all people. Nonviolence must ultimately come from within.

Our training is one small step in a vast, unfolding process. We are not leaders or trailblazers but participants in what we hope is a turning point in history on par with any humanity has ever witnessed - a turning point toward peace and justice.