Evil Can Not Be Subdued By Evil

Why do we engage in war?

We are told by those in high authority that the reason we go to war is to produce and preserve peace, liberty, blah blah blah. I do not write “blah blah blah” because I do not value peace and liberty, but because the statement that warfare is necessary for these things is a lie. Not only is warfare NOT necessary, it completely contradicts these ideals, and makes them impossible to attain.

Revenge, pride, the desire for power…these are the seeds of carnal warfare. Not peace. “From these [seeds] grow all the quarreling among children, the discord among families, the bickering, law suits, and broils among neighbors, the boxing among bullies, the dueling among modern gentlemen, and wars among nations” (D. Dodge).

Consider your own experiences. Repaying evil for evil on the individual level never achieves peace, and actually only destroys it. What happens in your own life when someone hurts you (emotionally, physically, etc.) and you seek revenge? What happens when you attempt to “settle the score” with a “dose of his/her own medicine?” When you hit a person, offensively or defensively, whether with your words or your fists, what happens?

So what makes us believe war on the international level will usher in a world of lasting peace and liberty? Maybe it is because that is the wisdom we glean from history! That must be it considering how in other pursuits we humans gain wisdom through experience. Oh wait, I seem to remember learning about not one, but two, wars “to end all wars” and still my brother, Kyle, is in Afghanistan armed with missiles. I have read and heard a lot of statistics regarding the ratio of wars to years in the past 100 years. Though different sources cite different numbers, they all list more than 100 wars. Over 100 wars in one century, more wars than years! And what has been the result? A very short list includes the loss of liberty, the destruction of property, homes, schools, theaters, sports arenas, museums, libraries, and churches, an increase in orphans and widows, the oppression of the poor and underprivileged, and over 160 million people dead. Huh.

It appears the real wisdom, dare I say the truth, is that war can do nothing to end war because evil cannot be subdued by evil. Two wrongs do not make a right. Error cannot be corrected by error. A “War on Terror” cannot eradicate terror; it can, has, and will only multiply it.

It is returning good for evil that overcomes evil. If you are a Christian, consider Christ’s teachings to “not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also” (Matthew 5:39). Christ teaches us to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44), and to “do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12). In fact, the second greatest commandment, after loving God, is to “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22: 39). The list goes on and on. "Christ's teachings, which came to be known to men, not by means of violence and the sword, but by means of non-resistance to evil, gentleness, meekness, and peaceableness, can only be diffused through the world by the example of peace, harmony, and love among its followers" (Tolstoy).

If you do not believe in Christ consult your common sense once more. In your life is genuine and lasting peace secured through arguments and violence? I’m not talking the “peace” when you and your spouse or you and your child argue so much that you give up. That is only temporary. My experiences have proven, as I’m sure yours have as well, that unless you honestly transcend issue(s) through communication based in love the fighting, in time, will resume. We are much more wise before hostilities commence. It is then, when we humble ourselves and remain calm, that reconciliation is efficiently and effectively achieved, with our friends as well as our foes.

The same principle applies in international relations because according to Ballou, “[t]rue non-resistance is the only real resistance to evil. To injure another because he has injured us, even with the aim of overcoming evil, is doubling the harm for him and for oneself; it is begetting, or at least setting free and inciting, that evil spirit which we should wish to drive out. If all men refused to resist evil by evil our world would be happy.”

The preservation of peace and the prevention of war can not be achieved by building sophisticated weapons and training young men and women to kill humans with their hands, just like the preservation of good health and the prevention of obesity can not be achieved by eating McDonalds for every meal and leading a completely sedentary lifestyle. I recently heard about a bumper sticker that I will paraphrase by saying, going to war to preserve peace is like engaging in sex to preserve one’s virginity. To put a G rating on it: “War is no more adapted to preserve liberty and produce a lasting peace than midnight darkness is to produce noonday light” (D. Dodge).

Ghandi knew this when he used nonviolent tactics to win India’s independence. Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia knew this when they overcame the Soviet Union using nonresistance. Te Whiti knew this when he nonviolently stopped a war of genocide that would have wiped out New Zealand’s Maori people. A group of women known as “Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo” knew this when they nonviolently contributed to the collapse of a ruthless Argentinean regime.

And you know this.

If you agree with the points I have made I urge you to examine your life for actions you may be taking which promote any spirit of violence, from arguing with a neighbor to endorsing the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recognize any inconsistency between truth and your actions and being to change.

If you do not agree with the points I have made I challenge you to examine your thoughts, words, and actions and determine what the results are when they are based in love vs. when they are based in anything less.

Dodge, D. (1812). War Inconsistent with the Religion of Jesus Christ.

Kurklasnsky, M. (2006). Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea.

Tolstoy, L. (1894). The Kingdom of God Within You.

The Student Study Bible. New International Version.

Recent Ecuador Happenings!!

-A couple weekends ago the volunteers piled into the back of a truck and rode out to Pondoa, a community living on the side of the volcano, to read books and do activities with the children living there. (We had to have a motorcycle police escort drive in front of us either so the community people wouldn’t think we were coming to traffic their children or so people wouldn’t think the driver was trafficking us…not sure which one though). About 20 kids turned out by bicycle, foot, and on horse to their very rural basketball court. The activities included making bracelets out of paper beads and presenting a puppet show about a dancing guinea pig. The kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy the visit.

-Remember the hot baths I mentioned in my last blog post? Well Richard and Carmen go the baths a few times every week and always invite us. Here are the details of the one and only time we’ve joined them. We arrived at the hot baths, paid the two dollar entrance fee per person, changed into what we were going to wear in the baths, went to turn in our baskets containing the clothes we came in and then proceed to the baths, and I was denied. Being from an island where I swam A LOT growing up, and many times unexpectedly (you’re out fishing, it’s hot, naturally you jump in the water…clothes and all), I planned on wearing a t-shirt and gym shorts in the hot baths because I did not bring a bathing suit. For Ecuadorians it’s a no-no to swim in clothes. It’s also a no-no to refund people who pay to use the hot baths and then don’t because you won’t let them. Instead, they responded “you should have rented a swimsuit for $1.” Neither CJ nor I knew enough Spanish to tell them how disgusting that is! Oh well, while I sat and watched everyone enjoy the healing powers of the hot baths two 17-year-old Ecuadorian girls came and sat with me and we attempted to converse…it was mostly giggles though as I don’t speak much Spanish and they spoke even less English.

-CJ taught me how to play chess and now I am constantly searching for opportunities to play. Sometimes I win.

-

I have read OnlyConnect, which is about transforming the public school system in America; Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea, which changed my life drastically (more on that later); The Year of Living Biblically, which made me laugh out loud and taught me a considerable amount about the Bible; Conversations with God (highly recommend); Civil Disobedience; and War Inconsistent with the Religion of Jesus Christ (recommend). I am currently reading The Outliers, which discusses why certain people succeed in their chosen field based on opportunity, as well as The Kingdom of God Within You, which receives my highest recommendation.

-We accepted an invitation to a home church meeting by an Ecuadorian woman, Yessi, who works at Arte del Mundo (where we volunteer). The small group meets four evenings a week. The Thursday evening we attended there were six Ecuadorians and the two of us. It was very similar to small group meetings CJ and I have experienced in America, in that we sang hymns, prayed communally, read scripture, and talked about scripture. It was a nice evening with kind people who love Jesus…and who I could only communicate with through my translators Yessi and CJ. I’m not certain of this but I believe CJ and I are the only two non-Ecuadorians who have ever joined them…which seemed to really thrill them. We are planning to join them again on a Saturday evening when the meetings are held around a campfire!

-Making dinner is nearly always a science experiment, which scares Richard and thrills us…especially when the meal tastes good (which thankfully it always does)! Our newest specialties include “Jungle Junk” and veggie lasagna (which still needs a fun name). Last night we made delicious homemade applesauce, Ecuadorian style.

-We have planted radishes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, lettuce, and Swiss char. We’ve also weeded, weed wacked, sawed down trees, planted trees, re-planted trees, and uncovered trees from weeds.

-Wedding plans – Nearly everything is planned except the two most important things…date and place! We may be having the most fun any two people have ever had planning their wedding. For instance, which sharing a plate of Ostrich at an Argentinean Restaurant, where the atmosphere made me feel like we were living in a tree house with the Lost Boys in Peter Pan, we thoroughly discussed “strongly encouraging” our wedding guests to wear tie-dye. There is only one ironic situation with the wedding. The United States Army, which CJ and I are both very much oppose to, is making it challenging to decide on a date and place. This is because one of my two extraordinary brothers, Kyle, was deployed to Afghanistan last week with a vague idea of when he will return.

-Speaking of war, CJ and I are in the process of undertaking a challenging project…that of becoming nonviolence activists. After reading, thinking, and discussing a great deal about nonviolence we’ve made it a common life goal to educate people about nonviolence. We are researching and brainstorming a variety of opportunities, from teaching nonviolence classes at the University level to traveling around presenting nonviolence seminars to working for specific nonviolent campaigns. Be prepared for the future of my blog to discuss such ideas as our “voluntary” military being nothing more than a draft of the poor, violence only leading to more violence, human nature, why you can’t promote both Christ and a violent military, the history of violence, the history of nonviolence, and MUCH more. CJ will also be writing nonviolence posts and his writing is sure to be more witty and thought provoking than mine so check it out at http://www.cjdates.blogspot.com/!!

Settled Down in Ecuador!!

INTERESTING BITS ABOUT BANOS

- Multiple entire streets are lined with vendors selling taffy, tangerines, and sugar cane at small stands. In the States it would be like eighteen McDonalds and Wendys on one block, all lined up, and sharing walls! And we think pharmacies and gas stations on every corner is a little much!

- The rest of the streets are lined with hostels, massage parlors, restaurants, internet cafes, and adventure tours (offering bungy jumping, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, jungle excursions, etc).

- Garbage is collected every night by a dump truck blaring the ice cream truck tune!!

- Many, many, many private and city walls are covered in really neat murals and graffiti. There is such an abundance of it and it is such great art that CJ and I have already devoted two days to walking around taking pictures of it, totaling over 350 pictures, and there is still more we want! We collect art from everywhere we travel and our piece from Ecuador is going to be a book of our graffiti and mural pictures!

- They don’t flush toilet paper down the toilet. It all (and I mean ALL) goes in a little trashcan sitting next to the toilet. This is true for private homes, as well as businesses.

- Every funeral includes a walking funeral procession down the narrow one-way streets of Banos.

- Guinea pig is a delicacy. They cook it by roasting the entire guinea pig (eyes, tail, claws and all) on a stick over a grill. CJ and I are going to try it this week.

- Banos is named after it’s world-renowned hot baths, which according to National Geographic offer the greatest health benefit of any hot baths in the world. At the hot baths there are pools of murky light brown water, rich in nutrients and heated by the volcano, as well as cold swimming pools. You are supposed to go back and forth from the hot to the cold nine times, sitting in each for a few minutes.

- Lunch is the most important meal of the day and children get out of school at 1 pm to go home for lunch. It’s crazy in town around that time as there are hundreds of school kids walking in packs and messing around with each other.

ARTE DE MUNDO

We have served at Arte del Mundo (a.k.a. the Bib) for two weeks and things are going wonderfully! The organization offers an adult and children’s library and after-school program from 3:30pm-6:30pm Monday-Friday, as well as English classes for adults and kids from 2pm-8pm Monday-Thursday. CJ teaches two 30-minute guitar classes each day, one for girls and one for boys. Once his lessons are over he helps with the after-school program (usually playing chess with the kids) and does miscellaneous beautification/construction projects around the property. I’ve been helping in the two activity rooms by playing games with the kids (Uno, Jenga, Set, Dutch Blitz) and doing projects (making bookmarks and jewelry), helping in the children’s library by reading to and being read to by the kids, and also getting involved in the kid’s photography class. It is a really fun place and the kids love it.

CASA DE RICARDO

As far as our living arrangements go, it’s quite the experience! We are living with an American man, Richard, and his Ecuadorian girlfriend, Carmen. He spent the majority of his life moving around the world building and restoring houses (beginning with no experience) and through doing that has lived in 20 different countries! Richard also had a pineapple farm in Costa Rica, was a Buddhist Monk in Japan (though at this point he has “a low opinion of all religions”), and I can’t even imagine what else! Everyday is an adventure to say the least. Carmen is a masseuse with her own massage business in town. They are housing us for free in a rustic 3-story home Richard restored, in exchange for us working in their garden an hour or two each day. They have amazing flower gardens and a fruit orchard with oranges, tangerines, lemons, limes, walnuts, and avacados. We are currently planting a vegetable garden (so they can sustain themselves when the world turns to chaos).