Roots of violence

Feb 03, 2014 Editorial

With our land apparently taken over by violence and its nihilistic repercussions, we propose a look at its anti-thesis – non-violence – as the other option. If asked for an example of nonviolent action, one is likely to mention Gandhi, or Martin Luther King, Jr. – strong and courageous people whose effective movements resulted respectively in Indian independence from decades of British rule, and the initial steps toward freeing African-Americans from decades of discrimination.
Such well-known cases notwithstanding, most of us tend to think of non-violence as ineffectual, the weapon of the weak. Non-violence and non-violent action, by their appearance, simply mean “not violence” and “not violent action.” It is a short mental jump to presume that they are everything violence and violent action are not. And, since the latter are associated with force, power, and strength, the former must be the absence of these attributes.
The situation is further complicated by a confusion of like-sounding terms — non-violence (as a philosophy or lifestyle) and non-violent action.
Pacifism is a philosophy which, in its absolutist form, proposes that “all forms of violence, war, and/or killing are unconditionally wrong. The proposed ideal is that social intercourse should be completely nonviolent and peaceful…” In conditional pacifism, nonviolence is still the ideal, but violence may be justified under certain typically extreme circumstances. Self-defence in the face of attack may be justified, but one should nonetheless do what one can to minimise the harm inflicted on the perpetrator.
While pacifism may simply be part of a broader humanist philosophy, it is most often associated with a large number of religious traditions. The Christian peace denominations, such as the Quakers and the Mennonites, have a rejection of violence as a core component, as do a number of non-Christian traditions, such as the Jains. Additionally, there are significant pacifist traditions in more mainstream religions such as Judaism, Islam, and Catholicism.
The pacifist traditions of the world’s religions individually all share a key central value — that life is precious and that it is not the right of any person to take the life of another. Some extend this mandate beyond human life to all animal life forms. This results in a range of behaviour from vegetarianism to soft-spokenness, from withdrawal from society to active involvement against war and the death penalty.
The focus of religious non-violence is not necessarily directed at the broader society. The main concern is often with one’s own spiritual wellbeing. This may simply require one to avoid engaging in violent behaviour oneself, maybe even at the extreme of not defending oneself from attack. On the other hand, many pacifist traditions encourage believers to work to end war and other forms of violence.
In some faith traditions, non-violent action becomes a moral imperative in the face of rampant social injustice. Brazilian liberation theologian Leonardo Boff discusses the need to resist that form of violence, which he labels “originating violence.”
Originating violence has its roots in the elite institutions of power, in a social structure that protects the interests of the dominant groups, and in the extreme right, which will not tolerate any social change out of fear of losing its privileged status.
Through non-violent action we avoid becoming accomplices of injustice by refusing the status quo; yet retain our own human dignity by refraining from violence. Boff propounds a mistica underlying nonviolent struggle:
The mistica of active non-violence implies changing ourselves as well as working to change the world. We must live the truth. We must be just, our integrity transparent. We must be peacemakers. It is not enough simply to confront external violence.
Most importantly, we must dig out the roots of violence in our own hearts, in our personal agendas, and in our life projects. In both a personal and a political sense we must seek to live today in miniature what we are seeking for tomorrow.

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Roots of violence

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