humanity – Engaging Peace

A light in the darkness

Posted on November 3, 2011November 1, 2011 by kathiemm

Candlelight vigil in support of Palestinian prisoners — Photo by Sabiha Mahmoud; used with permission

Over the past few weeks we have heard stories of bravery, courage, hope, happiness, and grief from Palestine. The stories accompanied the news that just over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners would be freed in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli IDF officer who was kidnapped from his tank in the Gaza strip and kept captive by the Palestinians.

As the news spread across the globe and different opinions were voiced, youth in the UK were planning something very different to send hope to those illegally detained by Israel.

Students, activists, and solidarity societies all over the UK planned a candlelight vigil, “A light in the darkness: A vigil for peace.” The intention was to send light to those who had none.

A silent gesture of solidarity, peace, and compassion was being whispered about in the cold streets of Preston, Sheffield, Derby, Birmingham, and London by people who valued their freedom and that of the oppressed.

On Sunday evening the 30^th of October, people all over the UK came together to light their candles, say prayers, send off Chinese lanterns and relight the flame of hope amongst those whose hope was stolen. The vigil in London is set to take place later in the week.

Simple acts of solidarity like this work wonders to bring a touch of humanity to the struggles of those whom our systems work so hard to dehumanise.

Using brains instead of brutality

Posted on June 30, 2011March 11, 2021 by kathiemm

[Note from Kathie Malley-Morrison: Our second post for Torture Awareness Month is a book review about alternatives to torture.]

By Rachel Tochiki

In his book, How to Break a Terrorist: The U.S. Interrogators Who Used Brains, Not Brutality, to Take Down the Deadliest Man in Iraq, Matthew Alexander, with John R. Bruning, describes his experience as interrogator in a prison in Iraq.

How do you “break” a terrorist, i.e., get a prisoner to open up and give information under interrogation?

Alexander’s answer is to appeal to human emotion and build rapport and trust– a strategy that contrasts sharply with old-school tactics of fear and control.

In describing his process of interrogation, he explains that he is an actor, taking on whatever personality or life experiences are necessary to appeal to the prisoner.

Despite the skepticism and disagreement of other interrogators, his strategy produced successful results, leading to the intelligence necessary to find Abu Musab al Zarqawi, one of the top priority terrorist leaders in Iraq.

Avoiding dehumanization of the enemy did not come easily for Alexander, who was often exposed to Al Qaida’s anti-America propaganda videos showing suicide bombings and beheadings. Yet his determination not to hate the enemy enabled him to reach a new level of understanding with the prisoners.

He found that many people work for Al Qaida because they need money, or are afraid of Shia militias. They see Al Qaida as a form of protection for their families. Few of the prisoners he interrogated actually believed in the ideology of Al Qaida.

He emphasizes that techniques upholding the Geneva Conventions are successful, and dismisses the need for enhanced interrogation. To obtain useful and accurate information from prisoners, fear and control are not as successful as methods of rapport and trust.

The book shows that even in times of war, soldiers need to remain humane, and Alexander emphasizes that doing so pays off.

Recognizing Human Rights Day

Posted on December 9, 2010July 6, 2011 by kathiemm

The United Nations has specified December 10 as international Human Rights Day in 2010. According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, this year’s theme focuses on human rights defenders, who act “against discrimination, often at great personal risk to both themselves and their families” Such individuals are exactly the types of people whom we identify as morally engaged.

The High Commissioner also points out that, “Some human rights defenders are famous, but most are not. They are active in every part of the world, working alone and in groups, in local communities, in national politics and internationally.”

We invite you to contribute to the worldwide campaign for human rights by performing some act today that promotes those rights. One thing that you can do is join Amnesty International or at least participate in one of their letter writing campaigns on behalf of victims of human rights violations.

Human Rights Day comes just five days after International Volunteer Day (Dec. 5). It’s not too late to volunteer to help some human rights endeavor on a regular basis. As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “Together, let us use the tenth anniversary of the International Year of Volunteers, which we mark in 2011 (IYV+10), to find new areas where volunteering can make a difference. Let us honour volunteering as an expression of our common humanity and a way to promote mutual respect, solidarity and reciprocity.”

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Moral engagement: Introduction

Posted on September 2, 2010July 6, 2011 by kathiemm

Mohandas K. Gandhi, 1940's. Photographer unknown; photo in public domain in India. (from WikiMedia Commons)

As discussed in our previous post, moral disengagement refers to the ways in which people rationalize about and frame inhumane acts. Mechanisms of disengagement allow us to tolerate–and even view as moral–such acts as invasion and torture.

Our topic today is moral engagement, in contrast to disengagement. As described by psychologist Albert Bandura, moral engagement involves a different kind of reasoning about harmful behaviors, as well as resisting any compliance with such behaviors.

Moral engagement requires moral courage–that is, a commitment to behaving morally in regards to others despite social pressures to participate in or passively comply with policies and actions that are hurtful to others.

Being morally engaged requires:

Accepting responsibility for one’s own behavior
Being sympathetic and empathetic
Acknowledging the negative effects on others of inhumane behavior
Recognizing that the “enemy”–whoever the enemy of the day might be–is a human being who shares a common humanity with oneself.

In Bandura’s view, one of the chief pathways to moral engagement is empathy, along with a sense of moral obligation to treat others humanely. A commitment to living by the Golden Rule is an example of such a moral obligation.

Trying to live a morally engaged life is a constant challenge. Can you think of examples when you or others you know have found it difficult to live by those principles, but have persevered? What kinds of circumstances help or interfere with living a morally engaged life?

In our next two posts, we consider the moral disengagement mechanism of euphemistic language, and its moral engagement counterpart, accurate descriptive language (telling it like it is).

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology