Nonviolence Newsletter

Newsletter?

So about four times a year Maryknoll (the organization I work for) sends out newsletters/magazines and this quarter’s prompt was nonviolence. If you would like to learn more about Maryknoll, or how to receive the email newsletters or the magazines by mail let me know- my contact information is in the bio on the right-hand side of this web page. Anyway- this is what I wrote for that newsletter:

Tanzania VS  the United States-

Picnic Lunch

When I first read the email that this quarters newsletter prompt was on non-violence, my initial thought was ‘well, I don’t have anything to say about that- there is not much violence here, at least that I’ve ever seen’ but after some reflecting I realized- maybe that is the point. Maybe trying to implement nonviolence here isn’t what the Maryknoll focus really means… maybe it means learning from all the nonviolent ways that are already so well in place here to be able to take them back to the States. Maybe it should really be trying to learn the peaceful ways of our mission countries to be able to bring back as much as possible to our homeland.

Walking Home from School

When I think about life here in Tanzania it feels so peaceful- there are always people greeting everyone on the streets with respect and love. People look out for one another and get worried when someone doesn’t show up to church on Sunday. It feels kind of how I always imagined life in the US was back in the 50s and 60s when you could really go ask your neighbor for some sugar for the cake you were baking (or flour for the ugali). Everyone looks out for one another here and the level of trust between people that have never even met before is unmatched- like when a young mother is trying to get on the Dala Dala (public bus) and she hands her baby to someone already sitting there, and it’s implied the person will hold the baby for the duration of the ride. 

Cattle Grazing

    It breaks my heart when people ask me how I feel about all the shootings in the states. They ask what the government is doing to help combat all the violence and I don’t know what to say. Sometimes I am embarrassed that I am representing a country that all these wonderful people are so afraid of, but I just have to remember and remind them too that the majority of Americans are just as sick and horrified as they are about these issues. Regardless of stance on gun laws, very, VERY few people in the states and in the world are not shaken to their core when they read about yet another school shooting. 

But what can I do about it?

My first thoughts about nonviolence are always towards the extreme side of the spectrum- beatings, stabbings, shootings, etc. I think about Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, and Thurgood Marshall. How they were such heroes, but I struggle to find ways to follow their example in my life and in my situations. I think a more realistic and tangible way to adapt a nonviolent perspective, especially in our everyday lives, is through speech. The way that we speak, to ourselves and to others, effects so much of our lives.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who choose one shall eat its fruit”- Proverbs 18:21 Spreading lies and participating in gossip is very easy to fall into and bring others with you. Statistics say we speak about one-fifth of our entire lives (time.com). That is a lot of opportunity to either spread love or spread hate. In the Navy, they have a saying- loose lips sink ships. Basically, if you accidentally tell the enemy information, you are as good as dead. This is a good way to visualize what God is telling us and how seriously we need to contemplate what we say- not only in public but in private too.

Playing 'Football'

Especially in today's world, there are so many different methods of communication- social media, text messaging, email, at home, in church, etc. Cyberbullying has, unfortunately, become a very real and common problem among our youth. 60% of people under the age of 18 said they have witnessed online bullying (dosomething.org). This is a form of violence that is taking place every day in a very real form. Paying attention to what we say on and offline is super important to the goal of creating a nonviolent world. 

Instead of thinking of all the terrible violence that goes on in our world and the extremely daunting task of how to combat those horrific things, why don’t we take a look inward- to ourselves and what we can do, in our everyday lives to simply make our corner of the world a better, more peaceful place to be. Trying to learn from our friends in our mission countries, and truly striving to Love Our Neighbors As Ourselves.