Theories "Just Peacemaking" much more than non-violence There is a compassionate rebel in everyone Healing the wounds Peacemakers Children can learn to be Peacemakers Local Peacemaker Makes a Difference The landmine issue Banning landmines: why the US won't sign the treaty Kids on the edge of a minefield |
|
|
"Just Peacemaking" More Than Non-Violence PEACEMAKING is not just non-violence, according to Larry Rasmussen. It is pre-meditated reconciliation. Rasmussen is a gray haired and bearded theologian. When he talked to a gym full of college students in Minneapolis in February, he explained why "Just Peacemaking" -- as in justice -- is not just merely peacemaking. Rasmussen's theory of peacemaking is about justice. It addresses conflict on many levels -- violence against our earth, domestic abuse, racial division, economic-driven conflict, and prejudice of all forms. "Just Peacemaking" is shaping people into makers of peace and lovers of justice. "Just Peacemaking" vs. "Just War" " 'Just War' is very misleading as a term, if not oxymoronic," says Rasmussen. It's about finding instances where violence is okay. This is not a new idea. Rasmussen says that we try to justify our war-making efforts with excuses like "This weapon is more humane," or "There were few civilian casualties." Another problem with "Just War," according to Rasmussen, is that war-making only makes use of a few gifts of the citizenry in achieving peace. "When peace is conceived with a military focus, it becomes an activity tied to one thing only -- armed violence and its threat." But Rasmussen says, "God is never glorified by our violence and our humanity is never honored by it." Post-cold-war violence Instead, the global economy is creating new conflicts -- regional conflicts -- that spring out of the growing distance between the rich and the poor. Poverty-stricken civilians are usually the hardest hit. Albania and Kosovo are good examples of that. Rasmussen says that 90 percent of the casualties in these skirmishes are civilians. In America, where people consider themselves protected by two oceans and a sound military, another type of conflict is a daily occurrence -- racism and its companions of hate and prejudice. Usually, the differences are only skin-deep. But the prejudice runs deeper and it seems impossible to reconcile. Some people even say there is an ethic for enemies, because, as Rasmussen says, "The fabric of society is always woven, in some degree, with conflict." Responding to the violence "One can call this way of life non-violence, but it's a very poor choice," says Rasmussen. "Non-violence defines a whole way of life by saying what it is not. As a category, non-violence is really not much better than white South Africans identifying black South Africans as 'non white.' " Labeling people as violent or non-violent isn't helpful, according to Rasmussen. Peacemakers need to be more than just not violent. Rasmussen says that "pre-meditated reconciliation" is a more accurate description because peacemakers need to actively participate in peace. "Just Peacemaking" starts at the local level. That means pulling apart two fighting neighbor kids or learning to speak another language. Anyone can be a peacemaker. "Peacemaking is the most universal of vocations," says Rasmussen. "Just Peacemaking" gets children, teachers, homemakers, business people, and students involved in the peace process. Children who learn to be lovers of peace and justice, learn to be much more than just non-violent. They are not just peacemakers, but "Just Peacemakers." |