676 - Peace & Life: Wage Nonviolence by Killing? - August 18, 2023
Waging Nonviolence by Killing the Unborn?
Waging Nonviolence by Killing the Unborn?
The site Waging Nonviolence ran an abortion-defending piece. So naturally some of us felt called upon to comment (on August 3):
Bill Samuel:
It is really ironic that a site named “Waging Nonviolence” is running a pro-killing piece like this. As a lifelong pacifist, I believe nonviolence is about opposing violence against at least all human beings, if not all creatures. It’s not supporting nonviolence to declare a powerless category of human beings as OK to kill. Waging Nonviolence should not be pushing violence as a way of “solving” problems. The dehumanization of categories of human beings is fundamentally inimical to the spirit of nonviolence.
Carol Crossed:
It seems at best abortion rights is a contradiction to being anti-war. ‘Rights’ are not as much a priority for me as non-violence. Killing human beings, whether in war or abortion, simply creates fewer people who will have rights.
Prof. Richard Stith:
Here is how abortion practitioner and medical school professor Lisa Harris once put the progressive dilemma: “In general feminism is a peaceful movement. It does not condone violent problem-solving, and opposes war and capital punishment. But abortion is a version of violence. What do we do with that contradiction?”
We would have liked to encourage you to comment also, but once these were posted, comments were closed.
Witnessing Against Nuclear Weapons
We held our quarterly Vigil to End the Nuclear Danger outside the White House in Washington, DC, on August 12th. The vigil, which was co-sponsored by the American Solidarity Party of Maryland and DC, Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore, and Rehumanize International, had a good turnout.
The vigil featured remarks from speakers, and we passed out literature. We generally received a positive response from passers-by. Probably the most significant response was from a Japanese couple who seemed appreciative of a protest against nuclear weapons taking place in the United States.
The next peace vigil will be in November; stay tuned.
Parliament of the World's Religions
This world-wide conference with thousands attending happens every 2-3 years, this time in Chicago. The interfaith movement is important in peace advocacy, and we are having a table in the large exhibit hall.
Pictured at our table: Lisa Stiller, Christy Yao Pelliccioni, and Rachel MacNair.
Our Latest Blog Post
How we ache to know that all our hard work is effective! This week’s post is a Documentary Review: The Movement and the Madman, by Rachel MacNair. This film came out earlier this year. The “movement” was large protests against the American war in Vietnam. The “madman” was Richard Nixon - that was what he called his war strategy. Since the war then continued, protesters were disheartened. What they didn’t know was what was happening behind the scenes – they were having far more of an impact than they realized.
Quotation of the Week
Tish Harrison Warren You can’t protect some life and not others The New York Times, June 18, 2023 Note: The first Republican presidential debate is next Wednesday, August 23.
With over a year to go until the presidential election, I am already dreading what this next political season will feel like — the polarity, the vitriol, the exhaustion, the online fighting, the misinformation, the possibility of another Trump nomination. I already know that I won’t feel represented by the platforms of either party. I know I’ll feel politically estranged and frustrated.
People like me, who hold to . . . a “consistent ethic of life” . . . don’t have a clear political home.