Part 2 (1/2)

[24] Alexander Berkman, _Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist_ (New York: Mother Earth Publis.h.i.+ng a.s.sociation, 1912), 7.

[25] Berkman, _Communist Anarchism_, 217-229, 247-248, 290.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln represented the spirit of moderation in the use of violence. He led his nation in war reluctantly and prayerfully, with no touch of hatred toward those whom the armies of which he was Commander-in-Chief were destroying. He expressed his feeling in an inspiring way in the closing words of his Second Inaugural Address, when the war was rapidly drawing to a victorious close:

”With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness to do the right, as G.o.d gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.”

The Church and War

The statements of British and American churchmen during the present war call to mind these words of Lincoln. At Malvern, in 1941, members of the Church of England declared: ”G.o.d himself is the sovereign of all human life; all men are his children, and ought to be brothers of one another; through Christ the Redeemer they can become what they ought to be.” In March, 1942, American Protestant leaders at Delaware, Ohio, a.s.serted: ”We believe it is the purpose of G.o.d to create a world-wide community in Jesus Christ, transcending nation, race and cla.s.s.”[26] Yet the majority of the men who drew up these two statements were supporting the war which their nations were waging against fellow members of the world community--against those whom they professed to call brothers. Like Lincoln they did so in the belief that when the military phases of the war were over, it would be possible to turn from violence and to practice the principles of Christian charity.[27]

There is little in human history to justify their hope. There is much to make us believe that the violent att.i.tudes of war will lead to hatred and injustice toward enemies when the war is done. The inspiring words of Lincoln were followed by the orgy of radical reconstruction in the South. There is at least as grave a doubt that the spirit of the Christian Church will dominate the peace which is concluded at the end of the present war.

The question arises insistently whether violence without hate can long live up to its own professions.

FOOTNOTES:

[26] number of these religious statements are conveniently brought together in the appendix to Paul Hutchinson's _From Victory to Peace_ (Chicago: Willett, Clark, 1943). For a statement of a point of view similar to the one we are discussing here, see also Charles Clayton Morrison, _The Christian and the War_ (Chicago: Willett, Clark, 1942).

[27] Bernard Iddings Bell has expressed the att.i.tude of such churchmen: ”Evil may sometimes get such control of men and nations, they have realized, that armed resistance becomes a necessity. There are times when not to partic.i.p.ate in violence is in itself violence to the welfare of the brethren. But no Christian moralist worth mentioning has ever regarded war _per se_ as other than monstrous, or hoped that by the use of violence anything more could be accomplished than the frustration of a temporarily powerful malicious wickedness. War in itself gives birth to no righteousness. Only such a fire of love as leads to self-effacement can advance the welfare of mankind.” ”Will the Christian Church Survive?” _Atlantic Monthly_, Vol. 170, October, 1942, 109.

III. NON-VIOLENCE BY NECESSITY

The use of non-violent resistance does not always denote devotion to pacifist principles. Groups who would gladly use arms against an enemy if they had them often use non-violent means simply because they have no others at their disposal at the moment. In contrast to the type of action described in the preceding section, such a procedure might be called ”hate without violence.” It would probably be better to call it ”non-violence by necessity.”

The group using non-violence under such circ.u.mstances might have in view one of three purposes. It might hope through its display of opposition and its own suffering to appeal to the sense of fair play of the group that was oppressing it. However, such a hope can exist only in cases where the two opposing parties have a large area of agreement upon values, or h.o.m.ogeneity, and would have no basis when the oppressing group looked upon the oppressed as completely beneath their consideration. It is unlikely that it would have much success in changing the policy of a nation which consciously chose to invade another country, although it might affect individual soldiers if their cultural background were similar to that of the invaded people.[28]

An invader usually desires to gain something from the invaded people. In order to succeed, he needs their cooperation. A second way of thwarting the will of the invader is to refuse that cooperation, and be willing to suffer the penalties of such refusal. Since the invaded territory would then have no value, the invader might leave of his own accord.

A third possibility is for the invaded people to employ sabotage and inflict damage upon the invader in the belief that his invasion can be made so costly that it will be impossible for him to remain in the conquered territory. Such sabotage easily merges into violence.

In the preceding paragraphs, the enemy of the group using non-violence has been referred to as the ”invader,” because our best examples of this type of non-violent opposition are to be found in the histories of conquered people opposing the will of occupying forces. A similar situation may exist between a colonial people and the home government of an imperial power, since in most cases their position is essentially that of a conquered people, except that their territory has been occupied for a longer period of time.

FOOTNOTE:

[28] Franklin H. Giddings said, ”In a word, non-aggression and non-resistance are an outcome of h.o.m.ogeneity.” ”The Gospel of Non-Resistance,” in _Democracy and Empire_ (New York: Macmillan, 1900), 356. See also Case, _Non-Violent Coercion_, 248; Lewis, _Case Against Pacifism_, 185-186.

Non-Violent Resistance to Invaders

Stories of the use of this sort of non-violence occur in our press every day, as they find their way out of the occupied countries which are opposing the n.a.z.i invaders with every means at their disposal. In these countries the vast majority of the people are agreed in their determination to rid themselves of n.a.z.i control. Such common agreement is the first requisite for the success of this method of resistance.