nonviolence or nonexistence

...Christianity is one of the most peaceful of religions and everybody seems to know that except for Christians. (paraphrase of Gahndi)

Last night I listened to the lecture of a Jesuit priest who has been arrested 75 times for non-violent
protests. Using words from some of the greatest voices for peace of our century he made a pretty convincing case for becoming an advocate for non-violence.

"It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence, its nonviolence or nonexistence." Dr M.L.K.

wow. let that really sink in for a second. there are over 30 different wars going on in the world right now. that is a lot of destruction.

Up until last night I thought I was completely against violence. And then he pushed me. Lets get rid of the just war theory. because violence is never just. it is always wrong.

what then of Darfur? will people in power respond to something other than violence?

Really would love to hear your thoughts on this. Sure we all can say we love peace. But do we have faith and hope enough in peace that we can imagine and work toward NO war?

By the way...

Wednesday March 4th, the International Criminal Court will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant for Sudan's president al Bashir, for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Bashir is the first head of state to be considered for indictment.

Furthermore, the pretrial judges making this decision, -- Akua Kuenyehia of Ghana, Sylvia Steiner of Brazil and Anita Usacka of Latvia -- are all women!

Dependency Cycle

People are often concerned with how dependent other countries are on foreign aid, how dependent the homeless are on handouts, and how dependent the world is on oil.

Today, I was humbled by a dependence that I was perhaps not ready to be cognizant of.

When you live in a suburb like Glenside and don't have much time, money or a car at your disposal, it is VERY challenging to buy local food. What's more, even if you have managed to find a local item, do you recognize the names of all the ingredients? (My latest measure, if I get bored or confused reading the ingredients list the item is not for me. this will either improve my food selection or my concentration abilities. win win.) At some point it seems you actually have to choose between local and healthy.

SO there is some frustration here today.