Wade’s Weekly: Nov. 17, 2010

Contents:
--“Nonviolence: Worldview, Strategy, and Lifestyle”
--Frankly Quoted
--Editor’s Notes

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Nonviolence: Worldview, Strategy, and Lifestyle
By Wade Lee Hudson

Prior to 1964, the civil rights movement displayed an inspiring, effective spirit. The growth and decline of that movement is instructive. We can learn a great deal from that history.

By tapping deep spiritual power (especially with music), focusing on winnable objectives, seeking reconciliation as well as justice, appealing to the enlightened self-interest of their opponents, and engaging in dignified civil disobedience when necessary, that movement achieved major progress.

Those gains, however, led to rising expectations, unrealistic hopes, demands for instant change, inevitable frustration, and counter-productive anger. The mammoth conflict at the 1964 Democratic Party national convention between the party establishment and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) brought that rage to a boil.

Challenging the official all-white Mississippi party, the MFDP conducted their own primary to elect delegates to the convention and demanded that their delegation be seated. President Johnson offered a compromise under which the MFDP would receive only two non-voting, at-large seats. Martin Luther King was willing to accept Johnson’s offer, but the MFDP delegates were furious and rejected the offer. Many grassroots activists, myself included, were also outraged. (At the next convention, the Democratic Party was largely integrated).

Thereafter, our impatient anger led many of us to try to impose our convictions by force. As Mario Savio said at the Free Speech Movement in late 1964:

There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part; you can't even passively take part, and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. And you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all!

For decades, I embraced that affirmation of the swift, intense application of physical force (that is, violence). Even many of us who never threw a rock or picked up a gun romanticized armed struggle. Many Third World wars against colonialism had achieved liberation, which provided violence with a certain appeal. We supported the Black Panther Party because we believed that rampant police brutality justified violent resistance. We disrupted “business as usual,” alienated workers by blocking traffic, and provoked police riots, falsely believing that “repression (always) breeds resistance.” And many Alinsky-style organizers often advanced a narrow notion of power-over.

The world now is much different. In 1985, Nelson Mandela began negotiating a nonviolent end to apartheid in South Africa and in 1986 the Philippine “people power” revolt overthrew the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos. Since then, many other grassroots struggles throughout the world have been inspired by these examples and have made progress with nonviolent methods.

We can make moral appeals to the privileged few to share more of their wealth and power.  We can point out that their long-term enlightened self-interest dictates that they should support measures that produce broader prosperity and greater democracy. Some of those elites will join us as allies.

But by and large, massive pressure is needed to persuade the power elite to negotiate sincerely. Especially in a society dominated by short-term thinking, most people don’t give up privileges on their own. As Adam Kahane said in his excellent book, Power and Love: A Theory and Practice of Social Change, “The problem has to be felt strongly and closely enough so that it cannot be ignored.” Or, as David Brooks wrote, “As in the civil rights era, politicians won't make big changes unless they are impelled and protected by a social upsurge.”

In general, organized popular pressure from below is necessary to expand economic opportunity and democratize political power. Absent effective opposition, the administrators of our key social institutions use their position to accumulate evermore wealth and power for themselves, their families, and their colleagues.

When key decision-makers refuse to budge on a significant issue that has broad public support, a nonviolent action arm of the economic justice movement, for instance, could get their attention with actions like a sit-in the office of a Congressperson or the local Chamber of Commerce (most local chambers are controlled by small businesspersons who are potential allies).

The willingness to be arrested can get decision-makers’ attention and generate media coverage, which can help build support. And the willingness of some activists to be arrested can elicit support from others who can help push decision-makers to negotiate an agreement.

Basic Principles

Given the potential of nonviolent action, it may be fruitful to review the basic principles of the early civil rights movement and consider how we might adapt them to deal with our current number one issue: the economy.

A good first step would be to agree on a long-term goal that could hold us together over the long haul. In his first speech in the United States after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, Martin Luther King expressed one of his basic motivations, which may point us in the right direction. He said:

Somehow, something reminds me, millions and millions of God's children – and many of them are white – are caught in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society, and because of my concern for humanity I've got to go back to the valley and try to help them!

This statement suggests that we could declare that our ultimate goal is to promote the common good of the entire human family by transforming our global society into a truly compassionate community. This principle could form the foundation of our nonviolent worldview.

From this perspective, to build momentum, we could focus on our own nation first, with the attitude that we don’t desire to improve ourselves at the expense of others. We could insist that our nation’s economic policies benefit the whole world. We’re all on this boat together and need each other.

To better achieve our mission, a basic code of conduct would likely be helpful.

The 1960 Nashville lunch counter sit-ins used the following written rules of conduct:

Do Not:
Strike back nor curse if abused.
Laugh out.
Hold conversations with a floor walker.
Leave your seat until your leader has given you permission to do so.
Block entrances to stores outside nor the aisles inside.

Do:
Show yourself friendly and courteous at all times.
Sit straight: always face the counter.
Report all serious incidents to your leader.
Refer information seekers to your leader in a polite manner.
Remember the teachings of Jesus Christ, Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King.
Love and non-violence is the way.

In spring 1963, participants in the Birmingham demonstrations led by King were required to sign a written pledge that read:

I hereby pledge myself, my person, and my body to the nonviolent movement. Therefore I will keep the following ten commandments:

1.    As you prepare to march meditate on the life and teachings of Jesus.
2.    Remember the nonviolent movement seeks justice and reconciliation - not victory.
3.    Walk and talk in the manner of love; for God is love.
4.    Pray daily to be used by God that all men and women might be free.
5.    Sacrifice personal wishes that all might be free.
6.    Observe with friend and foes the ordinary rules of courtesy.
7.    Perform regular service for others and the world.
8.    Refrain from violence of fist, tongue and heart.
9.    Strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
10.    Follow the directions of the movement leaders and of the captains on demonstrations.

In 2003, Soulforce, a gay rights organization, slightly amended King’s principles as follows:

1.    As I prepare for this direct action, I will meditate regularly on the life and teachings of Gandhi and King and other truth-seekers.
2.    I will remember that the nonviolent movement seeks justice and reconciliation - not victory.
3.    I will walk and talk in the manner of love and nonviolence.
4.    I will contemplate daily what I can do so that all can be free.
5.    I will sacrifice my own personal wishes that all might be free.
6.    I will observe with friend and foes the ordinary rules of courtesy.
7.    I will perform regular service for others and for the world.
8.    I will refrain from violence of fist, tongue, and heart.
9.    I will strive to be in good spiritual and bodily health.
10.    I will follow the directions of the squad leaders and other Soulforce leaders on our nonviolent direct actions.

Three points about these pledges strike me as particularly important. First, by referring to “myself, my person, and my body,” the preamble to King’s pledge affirms a holistic attitude that engages the whole person.

Second, all three pledges establish a respectful tone that opens the door to dialogue and makes it more likely that observers will listen.

Third, the thrust of these pledges, especially King’s, is to uphold the need for constant self-improvement. Specifically, when the pledge affirms the need to “strive” to be in good spiritual and bodily health, that formulation implies the need for steady effort in that regard.

None of us are perfect. From time to time we all fall short or backslide. As the Dali Lama said, “"There are two things important to keep in mind: self-examination and self-correction. We should constantly check our attitude toward others, examining ourselves carefully, and we should correct ourselves immediately when we find we are in the wrong." Along this line, we should make more explicit what is clearly implicit in King’s pledge: an ongoing commitment to personal growth.

One principle, #5, does concern me, however. Rather than say, “I will sacrifice my own personal wishes that all might be free,” I would prefer, “I will sacrifice my selfish desires that all might be free.” Total self-sacrifice, as suggested by the original statement, isn’t viable in the long run. We need to take care of ourselves so we can better care for others. But total selfishness is irresponsible. A balance is in order.

Regardless, these pledges could be a valuable starting point for an updated pledge.

Nonviolent Communities

By learning methods like nonviolent communication and compassionate listening and engaging regularly in meditation and other practices that strengthen us individually and collectively, we can develop a thoroughly nonviolent lifestyle and grow compassionate communities that indicate the kind of society we seek. We can steadily improve our society, our culture, and ourselves.

Along the way, from time to time, most of us will suddenly feel like a new person, our communities will take on qualitatively different characteristics, and our cultures will manifest new values.

We can’t fully know in advance what the results will be. Works of creation aren’t pre-determined. Nor will the results be locked in concrete. Transformation is never-ending.

Nevertheless, we can immerse ourselves in the process, accept our responsibility to participate, frequently remind ourselves that we may be mistaken, and celebrate “evolutionary revolution.”

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Frankly Quoted

“We think our civilization near its meridian, but we are yet only at the cock-crowing and the morning star. In our barbarous society the influence of character is in its infancy.”
--Ralph Waldo Emerson
(From Leonard Roy Frank’s monthly column. To subscribe, email <lfrank AT igc DOT org>.)

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Editor’s Note

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Following this issue, I’ll temporarily pause discussing how we might develop a nonviolent action arm for the economic justice movement. Instead, I’ll comment on some other issues, while I summarize some draft ideas for an organizing plan for that project.  When it’s ready, I’ll share that draft here. I’ll also likely present a draft at the January 15 Compassionate Politics Workshop.

Thanks for your interest. I look forward to our conversation.