Tom Ewell Connections
  • Saturday Evening Post
  • Prior Postings
  • Subscribe
Picture

Tom Ewell Connections

This blog features reflections on current affairs through the lens of my Quaker faith and practice and offers not only analysis but a perspective on hope, renewal, and reconciliation - a “lift”, as I call it - during these stressful, chaotic times.
Subscribe

Pacifism

6/10/2023

2 Comments

 
Picture
Friends,

The horrific fact of seemingly endless and merciless aggression in the Ukraine has tested my commitment to pacifism. I have deferred commentary on my thoughts for months, but this evening I want to try to share what I can with integrity and humility. I want to begin by affirming my commitment to pacifism and my firm belief that the devastation of war is a violation, a sin, against the sacredness of all life. War is not inevitable. It can and will be eventually abolished, and it is the sacred role of pacifists and all of us to hold that vision and hope and to promote it as possible. 

The classic definition of pacifism goes something like this: Pacifism is the belief that any violence, including war, is unjustifiable under any circumstances, and that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means. And I believe this is true. The obvious weakness in declaring such a stalwart definition, however, is that it avoids the question of self defense. At what point in the face of mortal threat is it actually morally irresponsible to fail to protect our communities, loved ones and ourselves? And this is why it is difficult to hold to classic pacifism in light of the merciless aggression of Russia upon the people of the Ukraine. 

I don’t have clarity about how to reconcile my commitment to pacifism while also respecting the right to protect. The only option with integrity is to acknowledge with deep regret that humanity has indeed proven capable of incredible brutality while engaged in war and other acts of savagery and genocide, and to accept that there are simply circumstances when it is morally acceptable to defend against them. But then we need to ask what it means to defend. What are the options?

The first option being played out now in the Ukraine is to counter the Russian aggression with more warfare and hope the situation will not escalate into an expanded declaration of regional war or, worse, the use of nuclear weapons. At present this may seem to many the only option available as we wait for diplomatic efforts to find a way to at least temporarily halt the hostility. And even if the conflict is stopped, I see no obvious way the ongoing conflict between Russia, the Ukraine, and its “satellite” neighbors - let alone the rest of Europe and the U.S. - can be fully resolved without some form of nonviolent truth and reconciliation efforts which are not readily apparent. War is not the answer as an ultimate resolution of deep, historical conflict that continues to broil in central Europe and other parts of the world. And it is likely to make things worse.

As a pacifist I don’t believe war can ever be adequately justified other than as a tragic failure of planetary governance. I am willing to concede that under circumstances of extreme duress and injustice such as the invasion of the Ukraine, people have the right, if not obligation, to resist the impact of war upon them, but I am most interested in discovering how war can be resisted and prevented in the first place, how communities and nations can protect themselves other than through a concomitant use of military force. I believe it is crucial that some part of humanity assertively condemn war and those who pursue and engage in it. Like the successful efforts to abolish slavery, it is possible to abolish war and criminalize it as a crime against humanity.  

I am increasingly aware of examples of a long history of successful efforts of preventing or undermining war efforts. The Preamble to the United Nations,* for example, establishes the vision for creating a world that would avoid the scourge of war. The International Criminal Court in The Hague (the ICC) was established to prosecute those accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression and war crimes as a safety valve to prevent acts of war, much like any court of law intends to prevent interpersonal conflict. If and when the ICC is unequivocally supported as an international arbiter of conflict through international law we would make a huge step toward the prevention of war. (The United States tragically refuses to join the ICC.) There is a growing body of documentation and research that records thousands of examples of successful  prevention of deadly conflict.** And I am particularly aware that our national Quaker peace organization, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, has been supporting efforts to provide for more congressional resources to create stronger means of anticipating and preventing domestic and international deadly conflict. In short, we do not have to accept a gruesome assumption that war is inevitable. In fact, pacifists and others need to say clearly that war will someday be abolished, and we are going to keep that flame of hope alive even in times of war, even if it seems naive, even if we must sacrifice for the right to oppose war as has been the case for conscientious objectors to war and others in the past. 

I want to close by bringing the concept of pacifism into our personal lives. Pacifism essentially encourages each of us to make a commitment to seek alternatives to violence. We need to learn and foster the ability to apply techniques like nonviolent communication that provide us with daily skills of violence prevention in our homes, communities and workplaces. Our commitment to pacifism does not mean we have no right to protect ourselves with counter violence; rather it means we as individuals and communities need to develop the skills to protect ourselves through nonviolent practices supported by a deep reverence and love for life and the sanctity and sacredness of our fellow human beings, even as difficult as that may be.

Blessings,
Tom
____________
*Preamble of the United Nations
WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

AND FOR THESE ENDS to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,
____
**Among a rapidly growing and convincing literature that provides alternatives to deadly conflict, see Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to Know by Erica Chenoweth
2 Comments
Johnny Palka link
6/11/2023 03:33:38 am

Dear Tom,
It was a blessing to read your words on pacifism. You took on the classic dilemma - how to deal with deadly aggression without fighting back when attacked - directly and clearly. You made a potent case for the need to be actively pacifist, to work for a world in which violence finds less and less of a place because steps toward justice and peace have been not only talked about, but actually implemented. Simply reacting to aggression by saying "No war, no matter what" will not do it. In the present moment, that would mean standing aside and asking the Ukrainians to accept Russian overlordship and exploitation without protecting themselves.
It is not at all clear what any of us individually, or any democratic governments, could actually do to divert people like Putin from taking advantage of any form of defenselessness to further their own ambitions. And yet, if we are to forestall future violence, wars, and genocides, this is exactly what we need to find a way of doing.
Thank you, Tom, for being so unafraid to be clear! Being clear about the reality of war and other violence in today's world is necessary for developing effective ways for at least reducing its likelihood in the future.

Reply
Larry Daloz link
6/11/2023 07:21:33 pm

Tom, I think this is the best piece you have written since you started. Really! You take on the impossible dialogue between an essentially absolutist pacifism ("...any violence, including war, is unjustifiable under any circumstances, and that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means....") and an absolute determination of an oppressor to crush all opposition by violence. Framed this way, there is no way out, no resolution if both positions are to remain inviolate.

Somehow, we have to construct a place to stand that will enable us to hold BOTH of these positions and establish a third way through. I think that your recognition of the moral imperative to DEFEND will work here. And I know that Quakers have sometimes distinguished between "violence" and "force" to enable a legitimate defense. That is, "force" may be used to deter or deflect violent efforts to hurt the other, somewhat as the classical Asian combat forms claim to do,

When I see the horrific images of what Putin has done to the Ukraine people, however, and recognize the utterly grotesque rationale for his actions and brutality, it's barely tolerable. I find that I can talk pretty when it's not my children, my people, my land that is at stake, but if that were happening to those I love, I honestly fear I would have to turn in my Quaker pin.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    View Complete List

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020

    RSS Feed

Contact Tom directly via email
Website by Jimhydeshelp
  • Saturday Evening Post
  • Prior Postings
  • Subscribe