CHAPTER ELEVEN

PEACE MOVEMENTS

Peace movements appear briefly throughout history. Ancient times saw invasions of city-states, before the formation of nations. Empires were born, expired and sometimes re-born. There were dark ages, ages of enlightenment, renaissance, age of reason, but wars continued. As seen in the chapter Cost of the Madness of War, man’s ingenuity increased productivity in killing through the evolution of weapons that became so proficient that today, thousands can be killed with the press of a button.
It seems that usually after a war when man recognizes the waste of human life and property and the futility of war, the idea of peace would be brought out and examined, then unresolved, was scheduled for future consideration so the next war could start. Even before the One God theology and Prophets appeared, opponents were convinced that their God or gods were on their side.
The only religions totally committed to permanent peace are Buddhism, Jainism and Friends. Their practice of nonviolence has never changed. Buddhists do not believe in a deity in the image of man. It exists with the certainty that each individual has the inner spirituality to treat one another with compassion, kindness and love. They have followed the teachings of Gotama Siddhartha, known as Buddha or the enlightened one who lived from 563-480 B.C. He said violence results from acting on the false presumption that material things have permanence that can bring happiness.
The goal of Buddhism is to pass through life, death and rebirth to reach Nirvana which leads to peace, discernment and enlightenment. He taught that everyone could “act for the good of the many, for the happiness of the many, and out of compassion for the world.” Were this the philosophy of all mankind, peace would be instantaneous and permanent.
Islam is both political and religious and believes to achieve peace everyone in the world must worship and obey God’s law. They do not consider this to be a man-made theology, but universal natural law as birth, life and death. In war, victory or defeat are the decisions of Allah alone.
Islam was not as intolerant of other religions in its early history as the extremists of today. They recognized the differences in theology as they spread throughout the region through war. People in the vanquished countries were not forced to convert, but had to pay taxes. Christians in Egypt and Lebanon were not persecuted, nor were Jews. As noted earlier, they were recognized as “People of the Book.” However, if either religion resisted political control they would be enslaved.
Islam regulated how to deal with peace treaties with non-believers. They distinguished between holy wars and those challenging political and economic issues. They were not in constant war, as their rapid spread might imply. They actually were seeking stability of their growing order. The enmity between Sunni, Shi’a and Kurd in this modern time has changed reasonable tolerance to violence in Iraq, with fundamentalists seeking world domination and the acceptance of Islam by all of the people.
In the Age of Enlightenment between 1648-1789, a few thinkers for the first time asked the question whether man was inherently violent or could new thought produce plans for procedures to end wars. This might have been the inner sense leading to the development of diplomacy. Voltaire charged that organized religion instigated men to war and pardoned them for killing, maiming and looting. His peace efforts were negated by his personal actions of condoning acts of war.
England was at the forefront for peace in Europe in the middle ages. Medieval and Renaissance poets wrote about the blessings of peace compared to the horrible destruction of war. England had peace during the reign of Henry VII and Elizabeth I until 1588, James I and Charles 1 from 1602 until 1640 and from 1713 until 1739. They were the vanguard in the balance of power theory, that a strong army and navy could maintain the peace.
Peace movements tried to embody the history of peaceful times and to seek impartial negotiators to settle differences to avoid war. Dante was one who hoped to achieve the same through the Holy Roman Emperor. In the early seventeenth century neither Catholics nor Protestants trusted a papacy to mediate. Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands had formed leagues to keep the peace.
An attempt to adopt international law to keep the peace was begun by French priests Emeric Cruce and Charles de Saint-Pierre, English Quakers William Penn and John Eilers, and philosophers Jean Jacques Rousseau, Kant and Jeremy Betham. None of the planners thought to involve the people in a peace process, instead relying on a king’s self interest to save their realms.
Kant’s peace plan was perhaps the most brilliant. He analyzed the type of government that has the power and incentives to declare war. He recognized that two branches of a government would be needed to divide the power to make the decision between war and peace, and that division could only be accomplished in a republic. His definition of a republic is that all citizens had natural rights and the government is bound to comply with their rights. He prophesied that republics would become the universal form of government, whether under a monarchy or democracy, because it was the “moral nature of humanity.” He foresaw the growth in the number of republics that would result in a “federation based on the law of nations.” Unfortunately, European nations ignored the peace planners and so atrocious wars continued. In the United States only Congress may declare war, so that presidents needed their support which generally was given, especially if the same party was in the majority.
As for the current invasion of Iraq, President Bush should be impeached and prosecuted for war crimes, including members of Congress who supported his decision without making certain that the information he gave them was true. We know now that it was false, and he had no information about the strength of Islam insurgents, who at this writing are increasing in strength and financial resources, are killing their own people and American troops in terrorist activity. Americans are too apathetic and indifferent to the state of the republic, that no action will be taken. This provides some insight into the rise of Hitler and his unspeakable crimes.
It is unlikely that even if efforts were made to seek impeachment or resignation of the president and vice-president, the conservatives in the judicial system would not likely render justice, especially since the partisan appointments of two supreme court justices in 2006 by George W. Bush. As to those in government having some interest in peace, their own special interests whether secular or religious, and their re-election agendas, preclude any protests.
Evangelical Christians and Quakers in Britain and America after the destruction wrought by Napoleon’s wars, founded peace societies to oppose all wars. Conscientious objection became an attempted path to peace. In the 1830s Britain’s peace societies emphasized secular utilitarian rhetoric to replace alliance systems with international diplomacy. Richard Cobden’s peace reform was linked with free trade to encourage national cooperation. In 1850 the English Whig party came out against wars that were waged, not to defend their country but to increase their power among nations. People provided money for the cause of peace, but had no political influence.
In America, William Lloyd Garrison who fought for the emancipation of slaves was labeled a radical who reformed the American Peace Society. Another society was created by Elihu Burritt (1810-1879) to persuade men to refuse to serve in any war. While some 100,000 joined the effort they had almost no impact on decisions to go to war. In 1898, Jan Gottlieb Block of Poland predicted the outbreak of war in Europe that would result in millions of deaths and devastation for years to come. Monarchs and generals mocked the prediction. The peace-makers tried to convince the people to demand the end of war. This was the first time that the word “pacifists” identifies peace-makers. “Militarism” was meant as a negative description of war mongers, but some welcomed war as a path to manhood in building strength and heroism.
In 1899 Tsar Nicholas I of Russia called for a conference of all nations at the Hague to discuss disarmament. It opened with twenty-six nations attending. The second conference in 1907 increased to forty-seven with more Latin American countries. The Germans would not allow disarmament discussion and threatened to walk out. They rejected binding arbitration and could not agree on even the smallest compromises. The third conference scheduled for 1915 did not take place. Conflicts arose between socialists and the middle-class before they could work together. Karl Marx could not envision permanent peace unless the working class would be the next rulers.
America and Europe cooperated in peace movements from 1870 to 1913, with its strength largely in the U.S., Britain and France. They excluded Poland which had been divided into Prussia, Russia and Austria Hungary. They ignored the middle-east even though Buddhists were dedicated to nonviolence, and Muslims separated holy wars from political conflict.
Despite the ambiguity of Europeans’ self-image as civilized, peaceful people, they divided Africa and the Balkans into their own territories, peacemakers tenaciously held to their mission. They failed to prevent World War I, but the Red Cross, the Geneva Convention were created, and an international peace movement was emerging.
The peace movement in America between 1900 and 1917 attracted politicians and affluent business leaders such as Andrew Carnegie. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace sponsored conferences and publicaions for peace and provided funds to build the World Court at the Hague in Holland, that was strongly supported by the American peace makers. Support for the movement was surprisingly in agreement by presidents, their cabinets and members of Congress. Even conservative Republican politicians were for stabilization of international law.
It took on a surprisingly political character, as pacifists and social workers could at the same time address the need for reform and an opportunity for greater participation in democracy. Women’s suffrage was related to the peace movement as a path to influence world affairs, too long conducted in almost privileged secrecy.
Pacifists were forced to choose between peace or freedom as Germany and Japan had already begun their takeover in Europe and Asia. Since that time peacemakers were silenced as seen earlier regarding Vietnam, and currently in the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Only recently have Americans begun to protest en masse in cities throughout the country.
Now the decision of North Korea and Iran to develop nuclear capability supposedly for commercial use, threatens to destroy Israel and they are not afraid of the United States or the United Nations' power to stop their nuclear proliferation. Several decades ago Israel secretly flew over Iraq and carried away its Oserak nuclear reactor facility in Baghdad.
The grandchildren of Mahatma Gandhi, Ela and Arun Gandhi, following in his footsteps are among the most dedicated peacemakers in the world. Ela is a member of the South African Parliament. Since 1999 she has published the newspaper, Satyagraha - In Pursuit of Truth to promote Gandhian values. Its focus is on The Gandhi development Trust (GDT), established August 19, 2002 to build a spirit of reconciliation, to help create a common nationhood, to create a culture of peace and nonviolence, to work on issues of development and empowerment, to promote a deeper idea understanding of democracy, to promote human values, to learn from and about history, to mobilize the community to work for change through the inspiration of their heritage. Her daughter, Ashish Ramgbin has joined in her work in the following projects: The world Conference on Religion and Peace; Participative Development Initiative, Domestic Violence Helpline.
Arun Gandhi and his wife, Sununda co-founded the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence. He and Dr. Barbara Fields, Executive Director of the Association for Global New Thought, (AGNT) are co-directors, of the Gandhi and King: Season for Nonviolence, inaugurated in 1997 on their 50th and 30th memorial anniversaries. It is an annual 64-day program of workshops and programs pertaining to methods to promote nonviolence. Thirty-two states in America along with nine nations in South America, Asia, Africa, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka have proclaimed this date.
They recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of the Season for Nonviolence with a unique peace train pilgrimage from Los Angeles to San Jose April 18-21, 2007. On board were the Gandhi, King and Chavez families and international leaders of several peace movements for open discussion and conversation with some 200 travelers, who were joined in a conference the next day in San Jose by 200 more. It was the first time that the families of the leaders who started and continued to educate the world came together in the cause of nonviolence. Ironically, a most violent attack by one troubled student who killed 32 students at Virginia Tech University, occurred two days before the pilgrimage. A potential peacemaker, Ohio's Democratic Congressman, Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, campaigned for the presidency in 2000 with the unique promise to establish a peace department in the cabinet with power equal to the war department. He is again a candidate for the presidency in 2008. THINK of how much better off the planet might be today compared to what it has become during the term of the "war" president George W. Bush, if a peacemaker had been president.
Author and lecturer, Marianne Williamson founded the Peace Alliance to support a legislative initiative to establish a United States Department of Peace. There are groups in 31 states.
William L. Ury has been a tireless worker for twenty-five years. He co-founded with president Jimmy Carter, the International Negotiation Network, a non-government body seeking to end civil wars around the world. The former president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for bringing Egypt and Israel to the peace-table, and again in 2006 for his work in diplomacy with nations in crisis.
A major event scheduled to take place in 2008 in the mid-east, the Abraham Path Initiative, is co-chaired by Mr. Ury, and Dr. Barbara Fields, who is a recipient of several peace awards. The purpose is to open up a route in the middle-east retracing the footsteps of the prophet Abraham. As the spiritual forefather of Jews, Christians and Muslims, Abraham is the unifying point for over three billion people who consider themselves part of the family of Abraham. The Abraham Path will underscore Abraham’s universal messages of oneness, unity, faith, justice, peace and hospitality toward all. To launch the event, people in 50 cities in the U.S. and abroad are participating in local Abraham walks, to bring religious healing to all three faiths.
There are hundreds of world-famous figures who are actively involved in similar peace making projects. It is this enlightened group that can motivate their followers, who will in turn motivate the next generations to study this new concept and guide it toward reality with the express purpose of enlarging their mission to permanently end war and save the planet.
President Bill Clinton used his post-presidential years to raise funds for the tsunami disaster victims in Indonesia in 2005, and surprisingly joined forced with senior George Bush-41, his former opponent, to wipe out HIV/AIDS in Africa.
There are two choices left to inhabitants of Planet Earth. One is to be relentless in contacting all influential and active friends to participate in, and demand a global peace movement to begin immediately. The other choice is do nothing and continue to live in fear of threats to world security
The present United Nations building in New York would be one of the six excellent planetary meeting places when the current system of government changes to peaceful existence.
There are hundreds of organizations, congregations, study programs, books, research journals, undergraduate and graduate university programs, and publications, professional societies and associations, networks, coalitions and federations, cultural exchange and service-oriented groups and other peace and conflict resolution groups. If you are moved to participate, details are available on the website www.socialpsychology.org/peacehtm.#generalnonviolence.