02/04/2017 CONCLUSION

conclusion

AftersurveyingthewealthofideasaboutnonviolenceinU.S.history,itwouldseemaudacioustomakeany
definitivesummarystatementordrawanydefiniteconclusions.ThisConclusionwillonlyhighlightafewofthe
mostimportanttrendsinthepastandraiseafewquestionstoponderforthefuture.

Throughtheendofthe19thcentury,thenonviolencetraditionwasmotivatedlargelybyissuesofindividual
identityandauthority.Thetraditionfocusedonthequestion,"WhatkindofpersondoIwanttobe?"It
recognizedthatthisquestionisalwayslinkedtoanother:"Whatauthority,ifany,willIacceptasbindingupon
me?"Inthe20thcentury,thetraditioncontinuedtoaskandanswerthesequestions.Butitenlargeditsscopeby
puttingincreasingfocusonthequestion,"Whatkindofsocietydowewanttolivein?"Soithadtoaskthe
inevitablecorollarytothatquestion:"HowcanIhelptocreatethekindofsocietyIwanttolivein?"Although
theconcernforindividualidentityandactionwasneverlost,itwasincreasinglyframedwithinalargerconcern
forgroupidentityandaction.Problemsofindividualmoralityweresubsumed,moreandmore,inproblemsof
socialandeconomicinstitutions.Thequestforpersonalspiritualgrowthwassubsumed,moreandmore,intothe
questforasocietyofgenuinelibertyandjusticeforall.

Inthe20thcentury,nonviolencecametobeseenasthesinglepathtobothpersonalandsocietalideals,andas
thebridgethatcouldlinkthetwo.Despitetheirmanydifferences,allthemajortheoristsofthe20thcentury
agreedonsomefundamentalconceptsthatcreatedthisbridge.Theygenerallystartedwiththepremisethatall
humanity(and,formany,allofcosmicreality)isinterconnected.Everyoneinfluenceseveryoneelse.Therefore,
noonehastherighttoexerciseauthorityoveranotheragainsttheotherswill.Everyonehasaright,anda
responsibility,tomakefreechoices.Onlybyexercisingthatrightresponsiblycananindividualfindhisorher
greatestfulfillment.Responsiblefreedommeansrespectingandpromotingthefreedomofallothersitmeans
workingforjustice.Italsomeansanattitudeofuniversallove.Onlyalovingsocietycanbejustonlyajust
societycanexpresslove.Noindividualcanattaintheidealsoffreedom,justice,andloveunlesssocietyisbuilt
upon,oratleastmovingtoward,thoseidealsassharedvalues.Societywillmovetowardthoseidealsonlywhen
theyarerealizedinthelivesofindividuals.Societyandtheindividualareinterwoven.Bytheendofthe20th
century,theseprinciplesweregenerallyacceptedbynearlyallgroups,andmostindividuals,committedto
nonviolentsocialchange.

Thegrowingfocusonsocietalconcernsinthe20thcenturywasconnectedtoanothermomentousdevelopment:
agrowingfocusontheresultsofnonviolentaction.Throughthelate19thcentury,nonviolencemovementswere
stillverymuchinfluencedbytheirrootsinChristiannonresistance.Evenwhentheyorganizedforchange,they
concentratedonmaintainingpersonalpuritybyavoidingviolentresistancetoevil.Asthe20thcenturywenton,
therewasmoreandmoredesiretocreateajustsociety.Nonviolencecouldmorereadilybeseenasameansto
thatend,ratherthananendinitselfthatguaranteesspiritualpurity.Nonviolencewaspromotedasthebestway
tocreate,inthepresent,thekindofsocietypeoplewantedforthefuture.Thisopenedupthepossibilitythat
nonviolencecouldbeusedasatoolforcoercion,ratherthanawaytoavoidanytaintofcoercivemotives.

Manypeoplenowassumethatnonviolencemustmeetthepragmatictest:Willitwork?Willitcreatethesocial
changeswewant?Ifthesequestionsseemsoobviouslytherightonestoask,thatistestimonytotheshifttoward
afocusonresults.Thereisnowagrowingliterature(inspiredlargelybytheworkofGeneSharp)arguingfor
theefficacyofnonviolence.Thoughitofferstheoreticalarguments,itlookslargelytothemanyexamplesin
historyofsuccessfulnonviolence.Theseexamplescancertainlyofferencouragement.Nonviolentmethodshave
indeedproducedhugechangesinsomeplacesandtimes.TheU.S.civilrightsmovementandtheindependence
struggleinIndiaareonlythebestknownofmanydozensthatcouldbecited.Anyonewholivedthroughtheend
ofthecoldwareraremembershowstunningitwastoseegovernmentsintheSovietUnionandthroughout
easternEuropebroughtdownbypopularuprisings.Thiswasachangeofworldhistoricalproportions,achange
thatfewatthetimehadeverexpectedtosee.Anditallhappenedwithscarcelyashotfired.Othermovements
aroundtheworldhavefollowedasimilarpattern.

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Beforeonehastenstojudgebythepragmatictest,though,itmaybeworthnotingthedangerinthistest.For
everycaseinwhichnonviolenceworked,itiseasytopointtoanynumberofcasesinwhichitdidnotwork.If
peopleadoptthewayofnonviolencebecausetheybelievethatitwillaccomplishtheirgoals,itissurely
possible,andmaybeprobable,thattheywillbedisappointed.Thentheyarelikelytoabandontheirnonviolent
stance.Thiskindofargumentfromhistory,thoughitmaystrengthencommitmenttononviolenceintheshort
run,mayendupweakeningitinthelongrun.

Activistswhohaveworkednonviolentlyforsocialchangeformanyyearsoftensaythattheydonotjudgethe
valueoftheirworkprimarilybytheresults.Theycertainlytrytoachievethebestoutcometheycan.Theydo
payattentiontoresults.However,theydonotnecessarilyexpectanyresults.Theydowhattheydomainly
becausetheythinkitistherightthingtodo.Theyvaluetheactivismasanendinitself.Inthatsense,their
effortscanneverfail.Thatiswhytheydonot"burnout."Theycansustaintheircommitmentandactivitiesfor
solongpreciselybecausetheyarenotmotivatedprimarilybyresults.

RELIGIOUSANDSECULARNONVIOLENCE

Inthe20thcentury,thetrendtowardmoreconcernwithsocialchangeandpragmaticresultswaslinkedtoyet
anotherchange,perhapsthemostsignificantofall.NonviolenceintheUnitedStateswasgraduallybreaking
freeofitsrootsinChristianity.Bytheendofthe20thcentury,althoughthemovementwasstillhugely
influencedbyChristianfaithandtradition,italsoencompassedlargenumbersofpeoplewhoadheredtosome
otherreligiousfaithortononeatall.Thisraisesaquestionthatmaybe,intheoreticalterms,themost
challengingquestionforthenonviolencemovementinyearstocome:Howwillitrespondtoitsincreasingly
ecumenicalandsecularcharacter?Canitfindatheoryandlanguagethatcanbringpeopletogether,allowing
themtofindcommongroundandembraceallpointsofviewintheirthinkingandspeaking?

Thevarietyofreligionshasnotposedagreatproblem,andverypossiblyitneverwill.Nonviolenceisinherently
tolerantitattractspeoplewhoareandwanttobetolerant.Thereisusuallyaneasyacceptanceofpeopleofother
faiths,aslongasallsharethesamecommitmentstosocialchange,spiritualvalues,andnonviolence.The
questionofsecularnonviolencewithoutanyreligiousbasisatallmayprovemoreproblematic.Sofar,that
problemhasalsobeenheldincheckbygoodwillandcommitmenttospecificsharedgoals.Inthelongrun,
though,themovementmayhavetodecidewhetheritcanmaketheoreticalroomforalargecomponentofpeople
withnoreligiousfaithatall.

Intellectually,thecrucialproblemistofindacompellingbasisforprinciplednonviolencethatdoesnotrequire
anykindofreligious,spiritual,ortranscendentrealityasitsfirstpremise.Thusfar,BarbaraDeminghas
providedperhapsthebestexampleofaseculartheoryofnonviolence.Herpremiseisthateverypersondeserves
maximumfreedomsimplybecauseheorsheishuman.Thisbegsthequestion:Whydoeseverypersonhavethe
righttomakefreechoicesandexercisefreewill?Mostnonviolencethinkersfindananswerbyinvokingsome
spiritualrealitythatiseternal,unchangeable,andthereforeunchallengeable.ButDemingcanrelyonlyonthe
humanmindforananswer.Shecanofferonlyrationalarguments,inthetraditionofthe18thcentury
Enlightenmentthinkers,whotrustedreasontoprovidealltruth.

TheEnlightenmentthinkerstookthisstandbecausetheythoughtitwasawaytobringpeopletogether.They
sawthemanywaysinwhichdifferencesofreligioncoulddividepeopleandsetthemagainsteachother.They
alsosawthatreligionseemedtobeslowlybutsteadilylosingitsinfluence.Someotherbasisfortruthwas
neededifpeopleweregoingtolearntogetalongandtobelieveinthepossibilityofknowingthetruthatall.
Logicalreasoningseemedtobethebestfoundationfortruthandcommunity.Itisthesameforeveryone,atleast
intheory:whereveryougo,twoplustwoequalsfour.Soitshouldprovideanindisputablebasisfortruth.

Becauseitisthesameforeveryone,reasonalsooffersamorelikelybasisforovercominghumanconflicts.
Reasonoffersalanguagethatallcanshareitopensupchannelsofcommunicationthatreligiousfoundations
maycutoff.Therefore,itisthebestbasisfortolerance,toavoidthekindoffanaticismthatreligioncanbreed.
Reasonalsoprovidesthebroadestpossiblefoundationforthenonviolencemovement,openingituptothe

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largestnumberofpeople.Itcanappealtothosewhoareprimarilyinterestedinpragmaticresultsaswellasthose
whosupportnonviolenceonprinciple.ApurelyrationaltheorylikeDeming'soffersalltheseadvantages.

Itisnoteworthy,though,thatDemingdidnotarguelogicallyfortheprimaryvalueofindividualfreedom.Like
mostsecularnonviolenceadherents,shedrewheavilyontheEnlightenmenttraditionyetdidnotexplicitly
acknowledgeit.Rather,likemostwithasecularstance,shetooktheinherentvalue,freedom,andrightsofevery
personasanunquestionedstartingpointaprimaryarticleoffaith,heldjustasfirmly,andwithjustaslittle
proof,asanyreligiousbelief.JustasGodissacredinChristianitysimplybecauseHeisGod,theindividual
humanbeingissacredinsecularnonviolencejustbecauseheorsheisahumanbeing.Thesecularstancecanbe,
andmostoftenis,justasmuchaleapoffaithasthereligious.

However,thenonviolencetraditioncanofferpowerfullogicalargumentsforacommitmenttoindividual
freedomanddignity.Ifreasonistheultimatesourceandtestoftruth,theneveryonehasequalaccesstothe
truth.Noonecanclaimaspecialknowledgeoftruthbasedontheirparticularreligion.Therefore,everyone
shouldbefreetoexplorethetruthforthemselvesandactuponthetruthastheyseeit.Nopersonshouldbe
allowedtocoerceanother.ThispremiseofindividualfreedomlayattheheartoftheProtestantReformation,
particularlyitsmoreradicalmovementssuchasAnabaptism,amainsourceofallmodernnonviolence
movements.Toinstallreasonintheplaceofanytranscendentrealityismerelytomovethattraditionastep
furtherinthesamedirectionofradicalindividualfreedom.

Thislinkbetweenreasonandfreedomhasbeenspelledoutmostclearlyintheanarchisttradition.Anarchists
alsosee,however,thatindividualfreedomisonlymeaningfulperhapsonlypossibleinacommunitywhere
eachpersonrespectsthefreedomofallothers.Theinsightthatweareallinterconnectedneedsnoreligious
basis.Itisreadilyobvioustoanyonewhothinksreasonablyaboutthenatureofhumanexistence.Ironically,it
wasadevoutlyreligiousmanDr.MartinLutherKing,Jr.whomadethemostinfluential,andperhapsthe
mostconvincing,secularargumentsforthelinkbetweenindividualfreedomandcommunity.

Kingalsosuggestedanothercompellingsecularargumentfornonviolentsocialchange.Thebestwaytocreate
thekindofworldwewanttohaveinthefutureistoactasifitwereherenow.AsGandhiputit,weshouldbe
thechangewewanttoseeintheworld.Ourlivesareselffulfillingprophecieseachchoicewemaketurnsthe
worldinthedirectionofthatchoice.IfwebaseourchoicesonaNiebuhrianpremisethatallpeopleare
inherentlyselfish,wemaketheworldjustabitmoreselfish.Ifweassumethatpeoplecanbasetheirchoiceson
selflesslove,webringtheworldjustabitclosertothesocietyofselflesslovethatKingcalledthebeloved
community.Ifwewanttolive,someday,inthebelovedcommunityaworldofgenuinefreedom,justice,love,
mutuality,andnonviolenceweshouldstakeourlivesuponthosevaluestoday.Thatleapoffaithisboundto
makeanyonewhotakesitabetterperson,regardlessoftheresultsoftheirparticularactionsforsocialchange.
Eachindividualsimprovement,inturn,willmaketheentiresocietybetter.Thisargumentfornonviolencecan
becompellingeventothosewhohavenoreligiousfaithatall.

Buttheremaybedisadvantagesinarationalfoundationfornonviolence,too.Supposethatreasonistheonly
basisforeveryperson'sinherentvalueandfreedom.Thenfreedom,justice,andtheworthofeveryindividualare
merelyideasinourminds.Wheredothoseideascomefrom?TheEnlightenmenttraditionclaimedthatlogical
thinkinggivesusaccesstoideasthatareuniversallyandeternallytrue.Theideasarethere,insomerealmof
cosmicobjectivetruth,simplywaitingtobediscoveredbyclearlogicalminds.Butinthetwentiethcentury,that
claimwasradicallychallenged.Itcametoseemnave,simplistic,andinmanyquartersunsupportable.The
notionof"objectivetruth"wasbesiegedbyevidencethatallthinkingis,tosomeextent,subjective,biased,and
alwaysliabletochange.Inthetwentyfirstcentury,itisextremelydifficulttomaintainabeliefinuniversal,
eternalideasthatareselfevidenttohumanreason.Thismeansthatanywayoflifebasedpurelyonreasonnow
restsonashakyfoundation.

Religionis,insomeways,amuchmorefirmfoundation.Thatfoundationisnotillogicaloropposedtoreason.It
canbeunderstoodingreatlogicaldetail(asmanyofthenonviolencethinkershaveshown).Religioncan,and
oftendoes,usereasonasabufferagainstfanaticism.Butthedeepestrootsofreligiontranscendhumanreason.
Theyaresecuredbyaclaimthattheystemfromsomecosmicforceorbeing.Thereisnowaythatlogiccan
challengethisclaim,sinceitis,bydefinition,beyondalllogic.Oncetheinitialclaimisacceptedasabasic
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premise,reasoncangoontoderiveanynumberofothertruthclaimsfromthatpremise.Butaslongtheyare
logicallyconsistentwiththebasicpremise,theytooareimmunefromanychallenge.

Thecertaintythatcomesfromreligionprovidesapowerfulemotionalsupport.Nonviolenceneedsthissupport,
becauseitrequiresawillingnesstoenduresufferingandperhapsevendeath.Itissurelypossibletoendure
sufferingandfacedeathforthesakeoftruthsderivedpurelyfromhumanreason.Butmostpeoplewould
probablyfindstrongersupportintruthsthattheybelievestemfromsomeeternalforceorbeing.Sufferingfora
religioustruthmakesapersonfeelmoredeeplyembeddedinthecosmicsourceofthattruth.Thecosmicsource
becomesmorefullyapartoftheperson.Thesufferingtakesoncosmicmeaning,andthesufferingperson
expands,asitwere,toalevelofuniversalbeing.Sodoesthecauseforwhichthepersonissuffering.Atleast
thatishowitoftenfeelstothereligiousnonviolentactivist.Thesecularactivisthasthesatisfactionofdoing
whatseemstobeindubitablyright.Butthatsatisfactionoccursonamorelimited,mundanelevelofexistence.
Withshallowerroots,itmaymoreeasilybesweptawaybythethreatofsufferinganddeath.

Theemotionalsupportthatcomesfromreligiongoesbeyondthefeelingofcertaintyitoffers.Religious
nonviolenceisatraditionthatismanycenturiesold.Tobepartofitistobepartofsomethingdeepand
seeminglypermanentinhumanculture,somethingsharedwithmillionsofotherpeople.Ithasdevelopedmany
symbolicwords,images,andpracticesthatevokepowerfulnonrationalresponses.Thesecanhelpmake
religiousnonviolencearichlysatisfyingexperience,notonlyintellectuallybutemotionally,socially,andeven
aesthetically.Secularnonviolencehasatraditionofitsown,rootedinthelargerculturalenvironmentof
humanism.Butitistooyoungtohavedevelopedanythingsorichandpowerfulasthereligioustraditionoffers.
Sinceitsrootsdonottranscendhumanreason,itmayneverbeabletogainarichnessandpowerequalto
religiousnonviolence.Ontheotherhand,perhapsitsimplyhasnothadenoughtime.

Ofcourse,theremaybenoneedtochoosebetweenreasonandreligionasfoundationsfornonviolence.Inthe
livedrealityofthenonviolencecommunity,bothcontributegreatly.Thetheoreticalorpotentialconflicts
betweenthemarerarelyevidentinpractice.Thereisnoreasontoassumethatthoseconflictswilleventually
intrudeonthepartnershipbetweenreligionandreason.Moreover,bothhaveshowntheirabilitytoengender
loveandcompassion,whichformthemostessentialfoundationofnonviolence.Whetherthatemotional
foundationisframedinreligiousorseculartermsmaybeasecondaryquestion.

NONVIOLENCE,IDEAS,ANDTHEUNITEDSTATEOFAMERICA

ForthoseofuswholiveintheUnitedStates,eventhelargemajoritywhohavenopersonalcommitmentto
nonviolence,studyingitsideasmayhaveaspecialvalue.TheU.S.is,andfortheforeseeablefuturewillbe,the
mostpowerfulnationintheworld.Itspoliciesaffectthelifeofeverypersonintheworld.Alltoooften,that
impactisnotforthebetter.Indeed,alltoooftenitbringssomeformofovertorcovertviolence.Simplybecause
ourimpactandcapacityforviolenceissogreat,wewholiveintheU.S.haveaspecialresponsibilitytothink
deeplyaboutthequestionofviolence.

Ofcourse,mostAmericansfeelquitesurethattheirnationusesviolenceonlyinselfdefense.SinceWorldWar
II,atleast,ourpubliclifehasbeensuffusedby,andstructuredaround,afearofenemies.Whetherthepurported
enemywasfascism,communism,terrorism,orsomeotherthreat,thepublichasbeencalledontosubordinateall
otherconcernstotheoverridingdemandfornationalsecurity.Yettheadventofthenationalsecuritystatehas
notreallymadetheaveragepersonfeelmoresecure.Onthecontrary,ithastendedtoreinforcethefeelingthat
insecurityandthreatnowformthepermanentconditionofournationallife.Farfromanationalsecuritystate,
weactuallyliveinanationalinsecuritystate.

Itmaybethattheonlywaytoescapethisdilemmaisaradicallynewwayofunderstandingrelationshipsamong
nations,anewwaydrawnfromtheoldtraditionofnonviolence.Thattraditionisuniquebecauseitstartsfrom
thepremisethatwehavenoenemies,thattheveryideaof"enemy"isaprofoundmisunderstandingofreality.
Theworldcannotbesimplydividedintofriendsandenemies,goodguysandbadguys.Everyoneintheworldis
tiedtogetherinwhatMartinLutherKing,Jr.,called"asinglegarmentofdestiny,"sothattheactionsofeach
affectallothers.Harmtooneisharmtoallsecurityforonerequiressecurityforall.Tobesure,wemaytryto
influenceotherstochangesomeoftheirbehaviors.First,however,wemustrecognizehowwehelptocreatethe
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problemswearetryingtosolveandtheinsecuritywearetryingtoalleviate.Wemusttakealong,hardlookat
ourownbehaviors,toseehowtheymayengenderandperpetuatethebehaviorsofothers.

IfU.S.nationalsecuritypoliciesareexaminedfromtheperspectiveofnonviolence,itwillusuallyturnoutthat
ourownpoliciesplayaverylargeroleincreatingtheveryproblemsthatthepolicesaresupposedtosolve.
Ratherthanblamingandfightinganenemy,wemaymakeourselvesmostsecurebycorrectingourown
behaviors.That,inturn,requiresustochangeourattitudes.Aboveall,wemustchangesomeofourfundamental
beliefs:thatAmericaisalwaysthe"goodguy"thatwearebesetbyenemieswhowanttoharmuswithout
reasonsthatournationallifemustbededicatedtofendingoffthreatsandovercomingfoes.Thenonviolence
traditionmaybeourmostvaluableresourceforfindinganewwaytothinkaboutAmericasroleintheworld,a
waythatcanbringmoregenuinesecurity,notonlyforourselves,butforthewholeworld.Wehaveaspecial
responsibilitytoconsiderthealternativeofnonviolence.

Wealsohaveaspecialopportunitytopromotethatalternative.Itisanironyofourhistorythatthenation
deployingthemostpoweraroundtheglobehasalsoenshrinedoneofthegreatestteachersofnonviolenceasa
nationalhero.MartinLutherKing,Jr.,iswidelyreveredbymillionswhohavelittleunderstandingofthe
complexitiesofhisideaofnonviolence.Mostofthosemillionsmighthavelittlesympathyforhisideaifthey
didunderstandit.YetthedeeprespectforDr.King,andhiseminentplaceinournationalmemory,afforda
strongplatformforpromotingasympatheticunderstandingofnonviolenceandmovingittoamorecentralplace
inournationallife.

Dr.Kingsthoughtisespeciallywellsuitedtoplaythisrolebecauseheencompassedsomuchofthe
nonviolencetraditioninhisownthought.Heabsorbednearlyallthemainideasofthewhitenonviolence
communityofthe1920sand1930s,yettranslatedthemintoanidiomrootedintheblackcommunity.He
recognizedhisintellectualdebttothehistoricpeacechurchesandworkedactivelywiththem.Hewas
profoundlyinfluencedbyNiebuhraswellasGandhi.HejoinedBarbaraDeminginseeingthelinksbetweenthe
civilrightsandpeacemovements.HewasoneofthefirstAmericanstoadmireandsupportThichNhatHanh.

Becausehisworksynthesizedsomanyinfluences,Dr.Kingwasabletofindamiddlewaybetweenmanyofthe
alternativesofferedbyothersideas.Heshowedhowindividualspiritualgrowthandsocialchangeare
inextricablyintertwinedhownonviolencecouldbebothanendinitselfandameanstoimprovingsocietyhow
wecouldpursuepracticalresultswithoutlettingresultsbetheultimatetestofouractionshowNiebuhrsviews
ofhumannaturecouldbeincorporatedintononviolencethoughthowcoercioncanbealegitimatepracticeof
nonviolencehowreligiousandrationalmotivesfornonviolencecanreinforceeachotherhowreligion,reason,
andemotioncanallworktogethertoproducealifeofloveandcompassion.

Manyoftheseemingcontradictionsthatappeartobeweaknessesinthethoughtofothersbecamestrengthsin
Dr.Kingsthought,becauseheshowedhowwecantranscendtheneedtochoosebetweenthesealternatives.
Rather,wecandrawuponalltheresourcesofthetraditionandbringallpointsofviewtogetherinamutually
strengtheningharmony.Thatiscertainlytruetothespiritofnonviolence.ItmaybeMartinLutherKing,Jr.,
morethananyothernonviolencethinker,whocanpointthewaytoastateofgenuinenationalandglobal
securityinthefuture,enrichedbytheideaofnonviolence.

NotestoConclusion

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