Reflections
1. Pilgrimage to Nonviolence
The chapter is Dr. King's naration and explanation of how
he personally came to nonviolent resistence, and his explanations/definitions
of nonviolent resistence. It is
interesting to note how quick he is to mention biblical passages which support
nonviolence, yet he totally ignores the contradictory passages (such as Exodus
22:18 [OT] and Matthew 10:34-10:37 [NT]).
As with any philosophy or sociological theory, nonviolence has its
place, uses, and practical applications in life, but I am far from convinced
that it is the absolute best solution in all situations. A far more practical justification for nonviolent
resistence could, I think, be created if we leave out all mention of goddesses,
gods, deities, or higher powers of any kind.
2. The Negro Revolution - Why 1963?
The chapter basically sets the stage for the civil rights
movement of 1963. For someone like
myself, who grew up after the era of such blatant segregation, 1963 sounds
hardly better than 1863.
3. The Sword That Heals
In his discussion of nonviolence, Dr. King of course
discusses his christian faith. It
always seems strange to me, and yes, a bit sad, to see African-Americans so
devoted to and sure of a religious system which was literally beaten into their
ancestors; forced on them by slave owners who robbed them of their freedom,
their families, their names, and their native beliefs and religions.
4. Bull Connor's Birmingham
This chapter discussed the climate of Birmingham before
the action, as well as some of the first organizational steps of the civil
rights leaders. It seems to me that if
there really were a god of love and mercy, he would have struck down Bull
Connor with a massive coronary, and saved everyone a hell of alot of trouble.
5. New Day in Birmingham
One guess as to which part of this chapter I'm gonna
comment on... So if I had lived back
then, and wanted to pledge myself to their cause, but I simply could not sign
that pledge because of numbers 1, 3, and 4, would I have been excluded? Would my atheism have kept me segregated
from those out to bring justice and social change?
6. Letter From Birmingham Jail
I may sound like a broken record, but religion and all
aspects of it are very interesting to me.
It is very easy for an atheist to point to horrendous christian deeds
throughout history, but for the sake of fairness, I must also admit that
christians have played their part in the fight for justice. Dr. King seems to have been one of them. His call out to religious leaders in the
letter is interesting...
7. Black and White Together
Bringing the young people into the movement; brilliance
on several levels. The youth of society
are often apathetic, more centered on their daily lives than an examination of
things on a larger scale. Aside from
the suppor they could give, they will (and did) also grow up with a sense of
what needs to be done, and past experience at getting it done. And, once again, it's too damned bad one of
those bricks or bottles didn't catch Bull between the eyes, and send him off to
brutalize an segregate the worms and insects which are found six feet below the
surface of the earth.
8. The Summer of Our Discontent
There was alot in this chapter, including issues of
violence against blacks, worry over where the movement would go next, and the
march on D.C. What stands out in my
mind is the long-standing tradition in this country which viewed non-whites as
inferior, beginning with the genocide committed by early settlers against the
natives of this land. I always wonder
about that when I hear people bitching about how "America doesn't need any
more immigrants!" I think we
should all just get the hell out of this country. Maybe off this planet all together.
9. The Days to Come
What Dr. King is talking about, in part, although he does
not use the term, is affirmative action policies. I liked his analogy of a race...when one person starts later than
the other, and concessions being made.
One part of me says "I'm not responsible for the awful things my
white ancestors did to their black ancestors; why should I be set at a disadvantage
by affirmative action programs?"
But my more practical side says "I'm still benefiting from the
actions of my ancestors (my middle class life which, by comparison, seems very
cushy), and many African-Americans are still at a socio-economical disadvantage
because of those actions. Affirmative
action is quite fair when viewed in that sense.
10. Introduction: The Challenge of a Higher Standard
I'm a bit perturbed right off the bat, with this
"spiritual integrity" talk. I
don't believe in the existence of a "soul" or "spirit", so
I hope Nair's reference is meant in the sense of mentally-established codes of
conduct.....
11. Section 1 - A Single Standard of Conduct
There is alot of stuff in this section; I'm gonna stick
with this "absolute values" business. If there is any one absolute in this world, it is that there are
no absolutes. A committment to absolute
value leaves no room for critical thought, which evaluates each individual
situation and then applies the best methods of resolution. A committment to absolute anything is, in my
opinion, a committment to close-mindedness.
I'm simply not going to accept that, and you can shut up right now,
because I don't want to hear another word on the matter. I'm right and you're wrong. The end.
12. Section 2 - The Spirit of Service
I actually liked this chapter, because I truly believe
that the purpose of a leader is service to others (when you are a leader of one
[yourself], you are still in service [to yourself]). Whenever I hear the word "service", though, I can't
help but think of the very awful connotations which have been attached to the
word for me personally, because of the Maryland Student Service Graduation
Requirement. This requirement FORCES
kids to serve others, which, aside from being a blatent and indefensible
violation of the 13th Ammendment, completely eradicates all the benfits of
service in the first place. When you
serve the interests of someone else, you get a great feeling of having done
something good. When you are forced to
serve, you only feel bitter.
13. Section 3 - Decisions and Actions Bounded by Moral
Principles
This was also a good chapter, because I think that
leaders ought to have the right goals in mind when making decisions. If a leader, like that scumbag W, decides to
cut funding to planned parenthood facilities in foreign countries because he
truly believes it will help reduce abortions, which he truly believes are
morally wrong, then okay. But when he
does it because he owes it to Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, and all those
other C.C. scumbags, even in the face of the fact that cutting those funds will
not reduce abortions, but only reduce information for impoverished women in
need, and probably increase the number of unwanted pregnancies, unwanted
children that can not be supported, an further overpopulation, he is fucking up
big-time, and making decisions for the wrong reasons. Then again, there is also the issue of, if decisions are to be
made on moral issues, who determines which morality we're gonna use? Christian morality says it is life at the
moment of conception, but my morality says that there is no basis for that, and
it is immoral to legislate away a person's right to govern their own physical
body. So which morality will we
use?
14. A Breif History of Gandhi
It seems like Gandhi was a pretty good guy, and that all
of his ideas were, if not always perfect, at least thought with good
intentions. I did not realize he was so
old when he died....I mean, I saw the movie, so I guess I knew...still though,
I thought he was younger.
15. Who Influenced Gandhi?
Perhaps "the greatest man of the 20th century",
he was so greatly influenced by three WOMEN!
So how much of his material did he steal from these three women, and
then get credit for, the little sneaky baldy bastard?! I wonder how often that is the case...behind
every great man is one or more great women, who never get the credit they
deserve.
16. Nonviolence: The Tolstoy-Gandhi Legacy
Oh great. I
mean...you know what I'm gonna say...Do I even need to bother? By the way...bodily pleasures? You know, sex, food, and drink...? Well, as long as you aren't hurting anyone
else, what's the big deal?! Read the Wiccan
bumper-sticker.
17. Engaged Buddhism: Gandhi's Ahimsa in Practice
Buddhism is really intriguing. Whenever I read it, what I always get out of it is a sense of
"everything is everything".
My greatest problem with it is that it seeems always ready to deny the
physical self, which, in my opinion, is the only thing we can be resonably
certain actually exists. To deny the
physical self in order to avoid suffering means to also give up pleasure. There must be a way eliminate suffering,
while retaining pleasure.
18. Douglass - A Life of Integrity
I guess it just seems to work that way. Those committed to nonviolence seem really
keen on the whole spiritual aspect. I
think that in a good class, or a good book, you come away with more questions
than when you went in. I guess the
biggest question I'll come away with is "Is it possible to embrace
non-violence if you have no metaphysical beliefs at all?" My cynical side also wonders...Is it only
the same sort of naive people who need the crutch of a "god" who
would believe in nonviolence as a successful way of life? But then...I can see the merrits of
nonviolence, and I'm certainly not foolish enough to believe in god. That sounds SO arrogant!! I love it!!
19. Kelly - Voices in the Wilderness
An eye-opening chapter.
We are fed a line of propaganda, and we swallow so much of it, we
sometimes forget what it really is. I
sometimes forget. But I also
wonder...What other options would be acceptable? If the Iraqi government builds weapons of mass destruction, even
though the U.N. threatens sanctions (which only hurt the people), does not the
Iraqi government bear some responsibility for those children starving to
death? What alternatives could exist,
instead of sanctions, to prevent dangerous leadership from having dangerous
power? Then again, imagine the
dangerous powers of the U.S. government...an who is at the top of U.S. power
currently.....
20. P. Harak - Nonviolence in the Schools
As a student who suffered endless harassment from my
fellow school-mates, I have a very clear perspective on this topic. The peer mediation ideas are good, but there
is a very important point often overlooked.
When a person is a victim of bullying, there is more than hurt and
anger. There is embarassment. In a society which praises things like
courage and strength, a person who is helpless to an onslaught of attacks
wonders what exactly is wrong with them for not being able to fight back. In middle and high school, I was a very fat
kid with glasses and bad acne, shy to begin with and more into books than
people; I was a prime target. When
asked by people, a few years later, why I did not go to the principal or
another authority figure, the answer was quite simple; shame. I would have endured a thousand times what I
did before admitting that I need help (especially with the hostile
administration at my school, since I was already protesting the student slavery
requirement). In fact, I remember that
in middle school I did talk to the principal.
His advice? "Toughen
up...fight back".
Reflections are reactions to
chapters from:
Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Higher Standard of
Leadership: Lessons from the Life of Gandhi by Keshavan Nair
Nonviolence for the
Third Millennium edited by G.
Simon Harak, S.J., with various authors