violence

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Hiroshima Day address 2010 (Hyde Park in Chicago)

Author: Kent Busse

I am inherently a very happy person. As a happy person, of course I understand sadness. I share the burdens of the less fortunate, and join reverently in the sober commemoration of this day.

But if I were only a negative, unhappy example, I would not persuade you to be an abolitionist like me. You do not want to follow me in negative thinking. It is only by extending hope in positive outcomes and shared happiness that I can persuade you that we must abolish nuclear weapons totally and forever.

A deceiver will argue that security is the arm of flesh: namely, superior coercive power and dominance. However, either a brief or a thorough examination leads directly to the realization that balance of terror is still terror, and that the real possibility of mutual annihilation does not make annihilation less likely.

Positive understanding teaches that lasting security lies in collaboration and cooperation. In conflict resolution and in ordinary daily enterprise, success is not established by selfish competition and dominance, but rather by the ability to work together toward shared outcomes. Beating our swords into plowshares reconstitutes them as tools of production.

I do not deny outbreaks of irrational and aggressive behavior; instead, I subject them to (a) a social contract (b) governed by reason (c) which leads to mutually agreed and implemented (d) rule of law. The essence of a society is its ability to use this cooperative mechanism to replace internal and external isolation, ignorance and brute force.

Therefore today I call upon you to move beyond preoccupation with the unthinkable, into the realm of a kinder, gentler, existence. I realize that this must begin with me, and I promise you that as you adopt this thought pattern of happiness, you will create and cultivate those associations in which you can persuade those nearest you to join this chorus of expanding circles. When our hearts are pure and our persuasion is effective, it is the summing of these circles that will ultimately carry the day and result in worldwide abolition of nuclear weapons, beginning at home.

May we never take our eyes off the prize, and may our love be so pure that it will indeed bring others into our new day of shared happiness.

copyright © 2010 Kent Busse

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Let’s Go to the Movies – and Look for a Message of Peace

Author: Breeze Richardson

My workshop this week has been a really nice experience, facilitated by Gareth Higgins (author of How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films) and Warren Cooper (owner of Music Media Ministry).  Titled, “How Does Pop Culture Reinforce Conflict or Encourage Healing”our time together focused on Walter Wink’s Myth of Redemptive Violence and how that false truth – that order comes from chaos – has been the key belief of all human cultures.  …and how this has played out in pop culture, especially film.

I think my main take away was a new appreciation for the idea that the context in which you see something affects how you perceive it.  So if you look for a message of peace, or reconciliation, or hope, or integrity… you might just find it.

Here are 7 films Gareth recommended, all which challenge this notion that violence can be a cleansing experience:

– Hero (Ying Xiong) (2002)
– The Full Monty (1997)
– The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
– Munich (2005)
– Protagonist (2007)
– ScaredScared (2004)
– Gran Torino (2008 )

Can you add to the list?  Or Comment on any of these you’ve seen (or see them so you can comment!), and share your thoughts on what take-away message you found?