I'm back and how I began to believe in nonviolence.

Long story short it's been three years since I even looked at this blog but I wanted to continue it to share my reflections about peace, nonviolence and the experiences that I've had in Cambodia which have helped to strengthen my beliefs. As a recipient of a post-Arrupe Jesuit education and as someone who works very closely with the J's and the Marists I'll be linking it to my spiritual beliefs as well so if that's not your thing then just skip those bits.

To begin I want to give a brief history of how I became committed to this kind of philosophy. 

Onward!

This is hard to put into words as a lot of it is just 'there'. But here goes.

When I was about eight I heard the word ‘pacifism’ for the first time on the news. I asked Mum what it meant, I can’t remember what she said but at that moment I knew that this was the right thing for me. It was the time of the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and as you know there were countless protests calling on the government to reconsider their decision.  

Sure, I understood that Saddam and Bin Laden were doing terrible things and would continue to do so until they were stopped but it just didn't make sense to my young self that we had to go to another country and kill people. No one gave a satisfactory answer to that question back in '03 and in the twelve years and countless wars since the question remains unanswered to me.

Will Saunders' and David Burgess’ ‘NO WAR’ painting on the Opera House showed me at a young age that there are people who so deeply committed to finding another solution to conflict that they are prepared to defy the law to make that point.

 

As I began to gradually understand the Gospel a little bit better it became apparent to me that Jesus was the perfect example of what I thought a pacifist was. He lived to help and heal others and never hurt anyone, even when he was angry. Even then it made no sense when people told me that God thinks that sometimes it's okay to go to war. If the terrorists were so bad because they thought that their God told them to hurt people then why do we say that God tells us the same thing? 

What's the difference when both sides think that they're doing the right thing?

I sort of gave up asking those kind of questions after a while. Entering Riverview renewed this curiosity.

If you know her, Erica Reading (who retired recently) was the perfect introduction to the Jesuit way of thinking in Year 5. Her gentle approach showed me that love and understanding commands far more respect and exacts deeper change than severity. Erica has taught literally generations of people how to reflect and consider their actions carefully. She fostered my faith greatly and for that I am immeasurably grateful.

I saw a few films in that year which I will review in some depth later which shaped the way I think about war, peace and the environment.

In 2005 I learned about Japan in great detail thanks to Paul Rizzardini's keen interest in the human effect of the nuclear war crimes committed in 1945. The story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes still sends shivers down my spine. On a trip to France my family visited the museum of Peace in Caen, outside of which the following statue stands:

To me the image represents that the best way to stop violence is to gently disrupt the inner (and outer) mechanisms which we use to harm others. It was astounding to walk around a place dedicated to the thousands of people who have devoted their lives to the same cause. 

On my Cambodia Immersion in 2010 I was able to see first hand the efforts of those about whom I had learned so much. Not much needs to be said about my 2012 gap year as you can read about it on this very blog! Since then things haven't changed much, but every time I go back it becomes more apparent that this is the way to go about things.

This is not to say that for twelve solid years I have never looked back. Many times since I did believe that war could be justified, but I was constantly exposed to things which made me rethink that position. I believe that I can say with some confidence that now I have reached the point of no return...

That's enough for now, any longer and it'll just be self-congratulatory bullshit. From now on I'll just post little reflections or thoughts here and there without going into a narrative. 

Shalom!