Posted by
Grampus on Thursday, December 21, 2006 2:01:25 PM
Do you sometimes wonder at the anger that comes from the anti-war protesters and pacifists? I have been thinking lately about the paradox of peaceful life…how much violence it takes to support survival.
In an interview with Elie Wiesel, noted author and survivor of the Nazi Holocaust. The interviewer asked him a hypothetical question: If he could have killed Adolph Hitler, would he have done so? Wiesel said yes. Contemplating the words of Wiesel thinking about Hitler or if someone tried to rape a family member, what happens to pacifism when reality -RIGHT NOW–presents its opposite. Do you turn the other cheek or fight?
What would have happened to the Jews if no one had sacrificed their lives to stop Hitler’s genocide? Could it be that one of the purposes of the fighter position is to preserve the lives of pacifists? Could it be that one of the purposes of the pacifist position is to inspire those who are willing to die? The point is, human existence is rarely black or white. Sometimes life is messy and complicated and confusing.
It’s tempting to deny the high cost of freedom. Those of us who have enjoyed relative ease (compared to the rest of the world) may prefer to forget the violence that birthed our comfort. It’s difficult to stay conscious of all the napalmed babies, the missing limbs, and the bombed-out countries as I sit down to dinner. We have a large number of Americans today that are probably too young to remember the true price of peace and if we avoid violence…peace would be automatic. There is real danger in that sort of thinking.
Ultimately, war is mysterious, the way pain and death and life are mysterious. Acknowledging this mystery, the best I can do is figure out where my own heart is leading me, and then take a stand. I stand on the side of peace but realize that there are times when I must fight. I believe that for many years to come is going to be a time for fighting...there is no avoiding it.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, tells the story of Golda, who survived Maidanek, one of Hitler’s most notorious death camps. Kübler-Ross visited Maidanek after World War II, in the hope of gaining some understanding of the horrors committed there. Seeing Maidanek firsthand only bewildered Kübler-Ross. She wondered how anyone could treat fellow humans with such absolute cruelty. In the midst of her ruminations, Kübler-Ross was approached by a woman named Golda. Golda understood Kübler-Ross’ inability to comprehend the brutality, but she said that any of us would be capable of committing such atrocities if we had been raised in Nazi Germany. "There is a Hitler in all of us," Golda said simply.
I agree with Golda. In fact, the people who scare me most are those who think they have no violent streak, no capacity for cruelty, and no potential for rage. These people are probably not ascended masters; they are more likely in denial. Their anger burner may not be functional, and their survival instinct may be disconnected, but that doesn’t mean their potential for violence is nonexistent. It probably just went underground.
Grampus