Lean towards Nonviolence: A Response to the Sandy Hook School Shooting

There is a lot of emotion around this terrible event in Newtown, Conn and rightfully so! Murdered adults are bad enough, but twenty young children being massacred is a horror beyond any right choice of words I have. It really wakes us up to see this violence done unto children. Going through the motions these last few days with my children and then seeing the faces of the kids taken from us in Newtown, all similar in beauty to my own, it really hits home. Often during the past election I would see the term “leaning”, as in leaning towards a particular candidate, as a nation we need to lean towards nonviolence. To lean in a new direction means to at the very least start the thought process towards thinking beyond the usual actions and reactions of the past and start believing in a nonviolent world. This process needs to happen in every sector of society.

The Newtown shootings should foster a mature vision and mindset towards weapons and their purpose. Discussion and then passage of stronger laws around guns I believe will happen, however honestly guns will never disappear either voluntarily or by law, still as citizens we should of think of nonviolence and peace first and foremost or this ancient mindless spiral of violence will continue. 

To answer what I am talking about here I have written some thoughts which are mostly moderate in tone. I am asking for soul searching in a world of violence. One sees violence in different forms between Newtown and Syria, still it is about killing or doing harm. This is a troubled world mixed paradoxically with so much good and hope.

I know not every child, teenager or adult who watches violent films or plays violent video games commits violence in time, but can we lean more towards nonviolent films and video games? I am not talking about forced censorship by government and I do well understand the art of storytelling, but we need to put violence as entertainment into a healthy perspective. It may be possible to compartmentalize your viewing of fictional violence from your reality, attitude, and judgement, but consider some self –censorship and to place your mind in a state of peace. Let’s not soak our brains in violence.  

If you wish to own a handgun to protect life and property then be sad and humbled that you feel threatened in your community and that you’ve come to this point. Be afraid of yourself, is the need for a gun an illusion or real in purpose? Sure own the gun if you must, but don’t brag about how you can take someone down who challenges your safety; rather keep that to yourself ;we need less bravado!

If you own a hunting rifle tell your family, friends, children, and know yourself that it is strictly for hunting animals, target practice,and for the reasons outlined by your local fish and game commissions, nothing more. Teach respect and safety around the sport of hunting and again teach nonviolence. 

Can we stop leaning towards hero worship of the military? While there are exceptions, mostly the military is about death and destroying for whatever reason deemed; it is their unfortunate job. Yes, do respect soldiers, just as we respect all people, but know that soldiers exist because of the spiral of violence in our world. The military is necessary to protect and defend our sovereign territory, however we should greatly question how and where that force is used and to what extent. Why do I point to the military and our wars after Newtown ? Because we need to be in peace as much as possible or we can't tell anyone that violence is wrong. There needs to be sadness about any use of force or violence in the name of justice whether necessary or not. Lean towards not using the military.

We talk about single person who killed 27 people in one attack and we are sad and outraged, however know that in a city my family has a great affection for, New Orleans, and across this nation as well, there is ongoing violence so frequent that I believe we are numb to it. Reports of violence in the local news becomes background noise or perhaps an atlas of neighborhoods to avoid and in-turn sadly ignore. 182 persons have been murdered so far in 2012 in New Orleans. One notable murder in New Orleans was of a five year old child in May who was in the wrong place at the wrong time; she was attending a birthday party! This is a case where sane persons say “everyone is violent, so I’ll be violent too.” Arguments that used to be fist fights now end in gunfire and death.

Encourage your church or place of worship to denounce violence and not to tip toe around it. It seems odd, but I heard no sermons in my particular church against war during Iraq or the ongoing Afghanistan war. In fairness we did pray for those in war-torn countries, plus there were prayers to keep soldiers out of harm’s way, and then there were prayers bring the troops home safely. I suppose prayers about bringing soldiers home safely is about peace, but is that all we can say? A least in my location there was no upfront and frank mention about the evils of war. There are many in churches, see Pax Christi and Fr. John Dear, who teach nonviolence and know that Jesus taught creative nonviolence, however it seems there are some that clergy play it safe on the subject. Christianity in it's true and radical form is about nonviolence -always. Watch the film “Romero” to get how violence should be addressed from the pulpit by courageous persons. 

I see the positioning starting after Newtown that says we need more weapons for protection; peace through strength as it appears. I'll admit peace of mind by being backed up by a gun sounds appealing, but as foolish as it may seem I don't want that world for myself nor my children, so count me out. Police in some very nuanced form near or on school campuses perhaps, but it seems counter-intuitive to the message we want to send our children about the world they should develop by sending them constantly past armed guards or arming school staff. Search for appropriate and mindful solutions that provide a message of nonviolence beyond just the good guys vs. bad guys with guns. We can't put protection in a box and say that's it - it is time to start thinking.

 I'll end with this, use the word “nonviolence” with your friends, family, and co-workers. Martin Luther King, Jr. said “The choice is no longer violence or nonviolence, it’s nonviolence or non-existence.”