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As the world is riveted to the violent drama unfolding between Israel and Palestine, we hold our breath in fear of the bloody potential for violence everywhere.
People around the globe can feel in their hearts where all of this is leading. We know that a bloody end to Palestine or a bloody end to Israel is a bloody end to us all.
We musn't let this happen.
The French farmer José Bové, along with other peace activists, recently risked their lives to show us what must be done: to walk boldly through the terror and destructiveness of war with food and medicine in our hands, to console the oppressed and, if possible, heal the oppressor.
Bové joined pacifists in Ramallah on March 31 to show his support for the besieged Yasser Arafat. In a dramatic attempt to deliver food and medicine to the Palestinian president, Bové approached the ravaged compound but was arrested. The humanitarian provisions were later taken into the compound by the Red Crescent.
This act of daring proves that the courageous people of the world today don't carry guns or depend on war to make things right. They carry life and sustenance. They trust that food and medicine will heal. They brave whatever obstacles there may be-- tanks, bullets, angry young men thirsty for blood-- to do the right thing.
The world calls for nothing less. Our survival as a species and we all know this deep in the very marrow of our bones depends on it. We need a passion, like José Bové's, that saves us.
Our religious passions have failed us. The fervor for what is holy, whether Christian, Islamic or Jewish, has grown twisted and ugly with bloodshed.
We need to find another way. We need to renew our passion for the holy in a way that brings peace to us all.
The Holy Land itself is tragically twisted and ugly from the violence of armed men who have forgotten the love of God, the Great One who presumably has an interest there. The anger and humiliation of such great suffering in the region has blinded the eye to what is really most holy and beautiful. It isn't war, or revenge. It's love.
José Bové's action, risking his life as Jesus would, taking food and medicine to people utterly overwhelmed by the violence and anger of their enemy, shows us what is truly needed: the beautiful and holy passion of love.
His determination to help the wounded and imprisoned in the midst of the greatest hostility the world has seen since Sept. 11 and the U.S. war on Afghanistan points us to the only answer left for us: to love God with all our heart, to love ourselves as our neighbor, and to love our enemy.
If we fail this admonition now, we are likely to forever lose what is holy and beautiful in this life. Our streams, as the apocalyptic literature tells us, will turn to blood, our fields into wastelands, and our homes into dust and ash.
Our children, too, will become murderers.
What have we got to lose?
The mavericks who rule with tanks and guns, those who have forgotten the orthodoxy of love, who have left the fold of peace-loving humanity, will lead us to destruction if we don't show them another way as Bové did recently by delivering humanitarian supplies to the besieged Arafat.
His self-sacrifice, putting himself in harm's way to do the right thing, is more worthy of recognition than those who are willing to die by taking up arms or by blowing themselves up. We need the kind of love that gives us the boldness and courage to put our lives on the line not for more violence but for peace. This is our only real hope for survival.
Let's glory in the acts of those who choose love.
The gloating self-sacrifice of terrorists and oppressors, those foolish enough to submit themselves to more violence and revenge, have held the limelight far too long. The glory of war is a myth. It's heroism is soiled in the acts of killing and in the zeal to destroy the "enemy." There's nothing glorious and little heroic about it. We ought to save our reverence for those who give their lives not for love of country but out of love for their enemies.
Until now, this idea may have felt naive, even to Christians whose God commands it. But the imperative to love our enemy, to heal the sick and wounded, has never been more urgent or necessary.
Warlords and bellicose politicians have tried long enough without success to bring peace through retaliation. It doesn't work. The escalation of violence diminishes us all. It is taking us, in this nuclear age and time of increasing global unrest, to the brink of destruction.
Enough blood has been shed. The bleeding Christ, whose sacrifice is said to have delivered us all from the chains of violence, hasn't he shed enough? Why, in God's name, do we need to sanction more?
The killing between Palestinians and Israelis has erupted into more fighting between students at universities, between friends, and between governments around the world. How much more tension do we need to spread before the powderkeg of global warfare explodes in our faces?
The brave thing to do would be to follow the example of those who love in the face of painful trials, bitterness, and loss. Those who aren't afraid to face the enemy of either side to serve the one in greatest need.
We've blanched long enough over the loss of sons and daughters murdered to avenge oppressors and terrorists. We've felt enough of the horror of violence to know that it solves nothing.
We know in our hearts that by succumbing to more violence we are sanctioning our demise.
It doesn't matter any more who murdered whom, whether oppressor murdered terrorist, or terrorist murdered oppressor. It doesn't matter who's right and who's wrong. We've gone beyond the point of an eye for an eye. The murder has to stop. That's the reality and imperative of our time.
We ought to pray that more women and men of courage will choose, as Bové did, to deliver the oppressed, to unveil the stupidity of war, and to show that there is, indeed, another way.
Places on the web to go in pursuit of peace:
Soon after the above article on José Bové's courage to stand for peace instead of war was published April 10 on the Common Dreams website (www.commondreams.org), the emails began coming in, some positive and supportive, others less so.
For example, this came from one unhappy reader: "God, what a moron you are. Put down the bong pipe and take a hard look around you. Evil people fly airplanes into buildings and idiots like you want to be civil???? Hopeless. You can't buy a clue."
Well, okay, I was warming my lungs for another good bong hit, when I realized: This is a challenge to love. I inhaled deeply, held my breath for a few seconds, and sent a reply: "I'll put down my bong pipe if you quit dropping acid and stop hallucinating. My article said nothing about 'evil people' flying airplanes into buildings, nor anything about being 'civil,' in which you apparently have no interest. My article said everything about having the courage to love your enemy."
It wasn't my most loving response. Still, I believe wholeheartedly in the courage to love one's enemy, even if it isn't always successful or easy. So, how do we become models of the ideals we espouse and purport to believe, particularly those that challenge the dominant paradigm of using violence to end violence? Perhaps we can start simply by believing in another way. It may be as simple as that. Certainly, it's better than the usual belief that more violence is a solution or option.
Others readers were more kind, sending "amens" and other assurances, as well as recommended websites:
www.Antiwar.com: The pressing need for "citizen experts" is the reason Antiwar.com was set up. The site evolved very quickly into an online magazine and research tool designed to keep the American people informed about the overseas plans of their rulers.
www.Space4Peace.org/: Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space From statement: It is crucial for peace and environmental activists to view space as an area of concern. The enormous expenditures of our tax revenues for space must be questioned. The morality and ethics of moving an arms race into space must be vigorously debated. The environmental consequences of U.S. space policy must be explored and resisted.
www.transnational.org: The Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research Headquartered in Sweden its mission is peace: learning to handle conflicts with ever less violence against other human beings, other cultures and Nature.
www.coalitionofwomen4peace.org: The Coalition of Women for a just peace believes that the occupation must stop, and that Israel must retreat to the 1967 borders.
Stacey Warde is an editor at HopeDance Magazine (hopedance.org). He can be reached at upanatom@thegrid.net.