Tag: peace

Is Peace a Taboo?

Posted on by kathiemm

Which color is to be tabooed next? / Th. Nast. Abstract/medium: 1 print : wood engraving, 1882. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1923. Author: Thomas Nast.

By Majed Ashy

Early anthropologists, such as Boas, and psychoanalysts such as Freud and Jung, discussed the anthropological and cultural origins of taboos. A taboo  is “a social or religious custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing.” (Oxford Living Dictionary) Every society has taboos that are defined and reinforced, and sometimes exploited, by various social and political powers and cultural organizations, such as religions, media, educational systems, and governments. Generally, powers threaten and impose punishments on individuals and groups crossing the line of the prohibited taboo.

The same cultural and psychological dynamics at play throughout history to define something as a taboo can be seen as contributing to current obstacles to peace and peace making. In some societies, not only are whole classes of people or nations characterized as evil, but associating with them is a taboo, as are their cultural tools and practices, and the expression of positive thoughts and emotions towards them. Any effort towards peace with groups subjected to taboos can itself become a taboo,  surrounded by various myths and fears.

Through their cultural tools, the powers in society create the illusion of a collective agreement on the prohibition of peace with those “others,” and enforce their taboos with theological rationales, selective portrayals of the historical and current relations between the groups, and the particular meanings they assign to their own behavior and that of the others.

The same dynamics that frightened pre-historical humans regarding unseen “evil” spirits, and convinced them that there were powerful protectors in society with special knowledge about and weapons against those “enemies,” are still at play in today’s modern societies.

Understanding these cultural and psychological dynamics of taboo-making can help us free ourselves from being manipulated into viewing peace as a taboo.

Note from KMM: Ask yourself: Have our governments and other organizations made peace a taboo? Have there been efforts to punish individuals and groups who “cross the line” and try to promote peace? Is peaceful association with some groups and nations and respect for their customs and beliefs a taboo? What do people in power gain by tabooing particular groups? What can people do to protest against efforts to taboo the pursuit of peace and social justice?

Did you ever? Saying yes to activism

Posted on by kathiemm

Sarah Mensch, Boston rally. Courtesy of Sarah Mensch, former Engaging Peace intern,

By Kathie MM

Fear, anger, discouragement, and a sense of helplessness are running rampant in this country today, and they have been charging towards this sorry state for generations.

But as pointed out in our recent series of posts , there are thousands of individuals around the world working actively on behalf of peace and justice.  Most started out pretty much as ordinary people, but they saw injustice and oppression and cruelty and had to act, no matter how big and frightening and indomitable the Big Brothers appeared to be.

You may be closer to belonging in their ranks than you realize.

Just think of the following:

Did you ever, as a kid, stick up for some other kid who was being bullied?

Did you ever try to be nice or include in activities some kid who was shy or shunned by others?

Did you ever, as a child, try to enlist the help of an adult to stop bullying or harassment ?

Did you ever, as a parent. confront a teacher or a principal or some other adult because you thought your kid or some other kid was being bullied or mistreated?

Did you ever, as a parent, take time to help your children understand prejudice, injustice?

Did you ever attend a school board or town meeting because you believed something harmful was going to happen to people in your town if particular policies or procedures were enacted?

Did you ever call upon family members or friends to join with you to protest something harmful to people or the environment that a  city council or state senate or big corporation was trying to promote?

Have you ever signed petitions or written to politicians, or participated in rallies against injustices?

Have you ever voted for a new politicalcandidate because you did not like what the incumbent was doing?

If you have done any of these or similar actions, tell us about them — and recognize that you’ve been a protestor on behalf of justice. Keep it up.  People all over the world are taking actions such as those and achieving successes.  But that’s a subject for another post.

Celebrating the MLK Legacy, Part 1

Posted on by kathiemm

Martin Luther King Jr, at a press conference / World Telegram & Sun photo by Walter Albertin, 8 June 1964. No known copyright restrictions.

 

Welcome to the Land of King!

by Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D.

Ladies and gentlemen, I write to you today from Atlanta, Georgia, USA, the birthplace and national shrine of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968), clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, Nobel Prize laureate, and martyr to the cause of justice.

I write to welcome you to the land where one man made the word “justice” a living reality, where one man’s relentless and indomitable pursuit of justice for his people, and for people everywhere, changed history through nonviolent protest.

I write to welcome you to the land where one’s man’s vision changed a nation’s identity, conscience, and heritage of slavery and abuse of African Americans, and of all people living in bondage, seeking opportunity, screaming for dignity.

It was here, more than 50 years ago, in Atlanta, Georgia, and in a thousand other places across the land – from Alabama to Chicago, from Washington, DC, to California – the deep, resonant, baritone voice of a black man electrified the air with words of such magnitude, of such righteousness, of such eloquence, of such truth, they crushed historical roots oppression, lifting the human spirit to new levels of hope.

It was here, in Atlanta, Georgia, a black man refused to be silenced, denying fear, injury, and pain, and threats, dangers, and risks to life. It was here, and across the land, hundreds of thousands hearkened to King’s inspiring words, joining in protests at costs to their safety, health, and life.

The task before King, and for countless others taking the cause of justice in those tumultuous years, was to undo a history of oppression and to build a future founded on laws that guarantee justice, equality, and liberty, regardless of race, creed, color, gender, or any social identity marker.

This, then, is the pressing challenge of life in our global age, as nations withdraw from social responsibilities and dismiss ideals promised by government and guaranteed by universal human rights and accepted moral codes.

Today, in celebration, we gather to share ideas, to seek wisdom, to pursue inspiration, and to bond in common purpose, in honor of Reverend King’s legacy. Let me, however, be clear in my message:

I do not write to tell you that the profound changes inspired by King and countless others who followed his ways in the 1960s are sufficient. Nor do I write to tell you that we must be content with the many broken political barriers, proud of social advances, and patient with remaining challenges.

I write today to tell you King’s words are enshrined in stone to remind us that the struggle for justice will always continue. I write to you today to tell you the fierce and exhausting struggle beginning in the Land of King 50 years ago has not ended, and will continue for generations to come.

I write today to tell you that the roots of hate, ignorance, and evil endure, nurtured by the protective veils of government corruption, cronyism, greed, and religious prejudices sanctioned by dogma and custom. I call upon you today to join King’s call to justice, now more than 50 years old, as it still echoes throughout our global age.

Listen! Can you hear the cries of the masses around the world who lead lives of desperation, lives devoid of hope, lives existing from moment to moment, each breath lacking reflexive assurance the next breath will come, bringing temporary solace to an aching body and mind.

Today, we are engaged in a global struggle for justice. There are victims of war and violence. There are victims of labor, gender, and child exploitation. There are victims of oppression; there are victims denied freedom. All victims yearn for recognition, support, and justice. All victims are you, for there is no other! This was the message in King’s words.

Answering King’s call and the call of billions of others living amid injustice will not be easy! Heeding King’s call will add burdens to conscience, press discomforting responsibilities upon daily rounds, and risk threat to security.

In answering the call, your life will not be the same. You will be required to face harsh realities; you will be singled out for abuse from reactionary forces whose accepted inhumanity keeps them locked in hate. Your life itself will be at risk.

What will not be at risk, however, is your personal integrity, your dignity, your identity, and your position of gratitude, respect, and admiration in the heart and minds of those you help.

Pursuit of justice is not for the faint of heart. You can expect condemnation, ridicule, insults, entrapment, and defamation. Costs are high, but rewards are more than gold or silver. Rewards come in knowing that in our brief time on Earth, you have done something to advance the cause of justice.

This week, in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., our posts offer you exemplars—100 in all—of contemporary peace and nonviolence activists; we celebrate the virtues they, like MLK, personify.  Please join us in the cause; celebrate the legacy of MLK, celebrate the efforts of people today who actively pursue the path of peace and justice.  See you tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.