Across the country, it seems that divisiveness and political turmoil have risen to a fever pitch. Family, friends, and neighbors are often at odds over issues that can cause anger and hurt. With the election behind us, it will take understanding, patience, and determination to heal the country as we move forward. We thank you for joining us in taking a pledge to develop and sustain a personal sense of peace and nonviolence in all aspects of our lives and bring us together.
Each Monday, from November 9 through December 21, we will be sending you a list of resources and suggestions on how to lead a more peaceful, just, and sustainable life. It’s a way of working toward eliminating violence, one step at a time, starting with ourselves.
Peace and all good!
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WEEK SEVEN
To Stand Up for Justice Nonviolently: To challenge violence in all its forms whenever I encounter it, whether at home, at school, at work, or in the community, and to stand with others who are treated unfairly.
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Protests in the U.S. and around the world have forced people to think about how they can contribute to the cause of racial justice and equality. One particularly prevalent point of discussion has been around allyship: What does it mean to be an ally? How can we be better allies to the marginalized voices amongst us? How can we be stronger advocates for the causes we champion? And true allyship isn’t just a concept for protests. Idealist explains what allyship is, and what that looks like in the workplace. MORE
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Approximately one in five Americans participated in a protest or rally between early 2016 and early 2018. Similarly, the number of women running for state and federal offices soared during the 2018 midterm elections. The ease of using social media appears to be ramping up virtual protesting too. In addition to making your objections heard in the streets or with tweets, there are many other ways you can influence public policies. MORE
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Shortly after Donald Trump was elected in 2016, hate crimes grew across the US. Such violent incidents have direct implications for the safety and sanctity of public space. There are actions to take if you ever witness such incidents on the street, in the park, in your child’s schoolyard, in the grocery store, at Starbucks. You can act to challenge hateful actions, and protect the victim. Here are some ideas about how. MORE
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Organized nonviolent resistance is a method of struggle outside of institutional methods (laws, courts, petitions, voting), without the use of injurious force or threat to others. It is open and direct conflict that exposes oppression. It is protest, resistance, or intervention to stop injustice and win control over our lives. Although nonviolent direct action, or NDA, is frequently dismissed in activist circles as ineffective and purely symbolic, there are thousands of examples, and quite literally millions of ordinary people, embracing the strategy of “people power” on a local and national level. MORE
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The Catholic Nonviolence Initiative is a movement of Christians committed to a more just and peaceful world we are called to take a clear stand for creative and active nonviolence and against all forms of violence. They propose that the Catholic Church develop and consider shifting to a Just Peace approach based on Gospel nonviolence. Individuals are invited to learn more about the initiative and endorse the statement. MORE
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Some people are born with an inexplicable urge to help other people. There is something inside them that makes it unbearable to stand idly by while others suffer. These individuals are innately compassionate, altruistic, empathic, and perpetually sensitive to the needs of others. They can barely fathom the cruel and violent history of this world but aren't ignorant to the sometimes sadistic tendencies of humanity. There's a great deal of evidence for why some people are genetically inclined to be more compassionate. They are born to stand up for others, especially when no one else will. MORE
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The Engaging Nonviolence Study Program is a fifteen-part study and action guide offering participants a wide variety of principles, stories, exercises, and readings for learning, practicing, and experimenting with the power of creative nonviolence for personal and social transformation. The book teaches powerful methods for opposing violence and injustice and for building just and peaceful nonviolent alternatives. Engaging Nonviolence is designed to build your capacity to use these methods to address the direct, structural, or cultural violence that matters most to you. MORE
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Ken Butigan of Pace e Bene asserts that we have more power than we think. Power pretends to emanate from the top. In fact, he writes, it is a bottom-up reality. Ironically, we are sometimes among the pillars that keep it in place. This is both a disheartening and transformative fact. This, of course, is easier said than done—but the great thing is that people around the globe are, in fact, increasingly getting it done. MORE
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Beautiful Trouble is a book, web toolbox, and international network of artist-activist trainers whose mission is to make grassroots movements more creative and more effective. It is a collaborative effort by 70 artist-activists-strategists and 10+ leading creative campaign organizations. Praised by Naomi Klein as “elegant and incendiary,” the book is being used by campaigns and classrooms across North America and Europe; it just sold its 10,000th copy and has been translated into seven languages. MORE
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Practitioners of nonviolent struggle have an entire arsenal of “nonviolent weapons” at their disposal. The Albert Einstein Institution has compiled a list of 198 of them, classified into three broad categories: nonviolent protest and persuasion, noncooperation (social, economic, and political), and nonviolent intervention. A description and historical examples of each can be found in volume two of “The Politics of Nonviolent Action” by Gene Sharp. MORE
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Inspired by the Pledge of Nonviolence
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