Inside
NCR
I did a search for material about
Jerry and Sis Levin and came up with a few reviews of the TV movie done in 1991
about their exploits. What I found amusing was the incredulity expressed by
some reviewers at the claim of cause and effect made in the movie, that
persistent nonviolent action should somehow get good results.
Sis believed that, Youve got to talk peace with your
enemies; you dont need to talk peace with your friends.
For some of her critics, the fact that evil persists in the world
was proof of the naiveté of those who believe that Sis persistence
and her point of view were responsible for the success of her mission.
That often is the reaction when the talk turns to peacemaking or
nonviolence as an alternative to war. I find that people demand far more
certainty of such positions than they do of war-making.
The presumption, too often, is that meeting violence with
nonviolence should not be risky or, if it is, it isnt worth the effort,
or that one should be guaranteed of success before undertaking nonviolence.
We dont demand such standards of our generals.
I think part of the reason that many of us have so little
tolerance for talk of nonviolent action is that we havent allowed
ourselves to imagine it as a possibility. How can we when so much of our
national treasure is spent on armaments and preparations for war?
So we keep looking for models, for individuals and groups who have
broken through and are imagining the possibilities -- and acting on them.
Last week, amid our coverage of the Middle East, we told you of
the influx into the war zone of international activists determined to be a
nonviolent presence there. This week, weve printed part of a dispatch
from a young man named Jeff Guntzel, who is with international volunteers in
the occupied territories (see Page 10). I first met Jeff, who works with Voices
in the Wilderness, in 1999 during a trip to Iraq. Hes thoughtful, with a
razor sharp wit and a wonderful realization of the possibilities, the dangers
and the work of nonviolent force.
Consider these last two weeks a kind
of tune-up for next week when well publish a pullout section on
peacemaking, covering a range of topics -- from peace in families to
peacemaking on the global stage. The section will be packed with
individuals stories as well as resources, from books and groups to
movies. We think it will make a wonderful guide for educators at all levels and
in all settings who want to help young minds to begin imagining possibilities
beyond war-making.
One last word on the Levins. When
not on the road lecturing, they participate in biweekly peace vigils with Pax
Christi members Jim and Shelley Douglas. They are also the local link for
members of the Jesuit Volunteers Corps coming to Birmingham to work with
charitable organizations.
Commenting on the recent eruption of war in Israel and the
occupied territories, Jerry said, We dont condone anyones
violence. But, he added, the terrible form that reprisals on both
sides have taken really does lie at the door of the United States
decades-long policy of enabling support for Israels conduct as
occupier of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
We have to do everything we can to make hope palpable,
he said. He believes the presence of internationals in the region can
have a very important effect. The more Americans involved, the more pressure
there will be on our government to change its policies and resolve some of the
worst effects of the violence.
-- Tom Roberts
My e-mail address is troberts@natcath.org
National Catholic Reporter, April 19,
2002
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