To the Editor:
September is the celebration of the International Day of Peace (IDOP). The United Nations declared Sept. 21 as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples, a cessation of hostilities during the day, and to otherwise commemorate the day through education and public awareness on peace-related issues. The International Day of Peace offers an opportunity to consider how best to break the vicious cycle of violence that conflict creates.
Nonviolence is a creative power for justice and the well-being of all; it uses neither passivity nor violence. Examples of the use of nonviolence include the actions of Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malala Yousafzai. Nonviolent actions are acts of civil resistance that have helped subvert violence in the form of sit-ins, boycotts, peaceful demonstrations and walks, to name a few.
In their 2011 book “Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict,” Erica Chenoweth, Ph.D., and co-author Maria Stephan state that nonviolent resistance defies consensus. Between 1900 and 2006, campaigns of nonviolent resistance were more than twice as effective as their violent counterparts. Attracting impressive support from citizens that helps separate regimes from their main sources of power, these campaigns have produced remarkable results, even in the contexts of Iran, the Palestinian territories, the Philippines, and Burma.
Learn more about promoting peace and nonviolence in your own life. Visit www.ClintonFranciscans. com. Then join The Sisters of St. Francis in the Stop the Hate/Show The Love Walk on Sept. 17, followed by the movie “A Force More Powerful” at 6:30 p.m. at The Canticle in Clinton. On Sept. 18, speakers at The Canticle will share their perspective of peace and nonviolence and how each of us can achieve this in our own lives. The events are free.
Lori Freudenberg, Community Outreach director
Franciscan Peace Center, Clinton
