It is an article of faith to me that the people at the grassroots who engage in warfare (or persistent violence, such as we see in some poor urban areas) are not "evil" but are caught in some calculus of perceived injustice, severe enough that civil society has ceased to offer them an acceptable life.
Because I respect the inherent worth and dignity of *every* human being, ultimately, I feel this is the framework of interpretation I must adopt. I believe that seeking justice, equity, and compassion in human relations will lead to peace. I believe in a goal of a world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all that emerges from this. And I lean on my fathers and mothers of spirit, including Ghandi, MLK, a woman on the stairs in Odessa, all people who have embraced these principles, worked for peace, and changed the world.
I am not a pure pacifist (and I'll note neither was Gandhi, and MLK wrote about *adopting* nonviolence as a strategy critically). I do believe, for example, that a well run peacekeeping force can end genocide or acute conflict, and that those people must be armed with rules of engagement and bullets and a firm mandate.
If you want peace, work for justice.
[another adapted post originally shared with my church community email list in Eugene, Oregon]
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