Presented in cooperation with Peaceworkers, San Francisco, CA.
(www.peaceworkersus.org)
A collection of articles, interviews and book chapters of interest to peacemakers. (All items on this page are free of charge and may be reproduced for non-commercial, educational purposes. All items on this page are distributed in accordance with the “fair use” copyright doctrine for scholarly materials.)
Strategies for Transformation
It’s Time to Claim Our Highest Vision: Let’s Embrace the Great Turning Saturday, February 25, 2017 — By Chris Moore-Backman, Truthout | Op-Ed
10 Point Plan for a Movement of Movements George Lakey February 2017
How anti-Vietnam War activists stopped violent protest from hijacking their movement Robert Levering — March 7, 2017 — https://www.truth-out.org
(Chapters in PDF format plus links to reviews):
CHAPTER 2: One Common Humanity: Meeting Dr. King and a Lunch Counter Showdown
Read online with PDF Viewer :: :: :: Download PDF File
CHAPTER 7: Blockade: Standing in the Way of Bombs Headed for Nam
Read online with PDF Viewer :: :: :: Download PDF File
CHAPTER 10: Assault on the Tracks: Facing Violence with Love and Courage
Read online with PDF Viewer :: :: :: Download PDF File
RESOURCES SECTIONS: Resources for Further Study and Action: What You Can Do
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REVIEW: Giants on the Earth: A Review of Waging Peace by David Hartsough
REVIEW: Waging Peace and the ordinary, extraordinary life of David Hartsough — A review by Ken Butigan
REVIEW: FROM Catholic Agitator Vol. 45/No. 1, February, 2015 — Review by Sandi Huckaby
Blessing the Bombs: The Hiroshima Bombers’ Chaplain Faces Christ
Father George Zabelka, a Catholic chaplain with the U.S. Air Force, served as a priest for the airmen who dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, and gave them his blessing. Days later he counseled an airman who had flown a low-level reconnaissance flight over the city of Nagasaki shortly after the detonation of “Fat Man.” The man described how thousands of scorched, twisted bodies writhed on the ground in the final throes of death, while those still on their feet wandered aimlessly in shock-flesh seared, melted, and falling off. The crewman’s description raised a stifled cry from the depths of Zabelka’s soul: “My God, what have we done?” Over the next twenty years, he gradually came to believe that he had been terribly wrong, that he had denied the very foundations of his faith by lending moral and religious support to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Zabelka who died in 1992, gave this speech on the 40th anniversary of the bombings.
Download PDF
Jim Douglas and Nonviolent Resistance to War and Nuclear Weapons
Six articles about, and interviews with, peace activist Jim Douglass, by Terry Messman
Life at Ground Zero of the Nuclear Arms Race Blockading the ‘White Train of Death’ Street Spirit Interview with Jim Douglass (Part 1) Street Spirit Interview with Jim Douglass (Part 2) The Acts of Resistance and the Works of Mercy (Part 3) Gandhi’s Vision of Nonviolence: Holding Firm to Truth (Part 4)
Principled Nonviolence: An Imperative, Not an Optional Extra Prof. Kevin P. Clements from the Asian Journal of Peacebuilding Vol. 3 No. 1 (2015): 1-9 [Exploration of nonviolence from a Peace and Conflict Studies perspective] This article compares principled and strategic nonviolent movements. While pragmatic, strategic nonviolence is [more] effective [than principled nonviolence] for movements seeking to overthrow corrupt repressive and dictatorial regimes, [pragmatic, strategic nonviolence] is much less successful in the progressive transformation of state and political systems. This [difference in outcomes] is because principled nonviolence and movements associated with such value systems are ambivalent about political power and the role of the Weberian state. Conversely strategic nonviolent movements, are willing to utilize the coercive power of the state for their own political purposes and in doing so often become fatally compromised, as happened in Egypt, Palestine and Syria. The promise of principled nonviolence is social, political, and economic institutions capable of transcending Machiavellian politics because of a radical commitment to pacifism and emancipatory political processes. Read more…
Recent Reflections on the Occupy Movement
Seattle WTO Shutdown ’99 to Occupy: Organizing to Win 12 Years Later By David Solnit — December 5, 2011
Building the World We Want By Michael Nagler — Metta Center for Nonviolence — Dec. 22, 2011
Nonviolent Success (PDF)
A review of Gene Sharp’s Waging Nonviolent Struggle
by Robert Irwin
From the review…
“Sharp is a remarkably single-minded and hopeful person. Decades after many people have laid aside whatever youthful idealism they had, Sharp still affirms, “if understood accurately and applied intelligently, wisely, and courageously, this alternative type of struggle… offers great hope for a better future for our world.” Hopefulness tends to vary with temperament. But Gene Sharp’s research provides solid evidence and reasoning that can sustain realistic hope for persons of any temperament.”
“Waging Nonviolent Struggle is an indispensable work. It is an up-to-date guide and a gateway to other valuable resources. Clear organization (and a detailed index) make this book “consultable” as well as readable, and at $14.95 it is very reasonably priced. When it comes to nonviolent struggle, Sharp does not have all the answers; but you can find more of them by starting with his writings than any other way I know.” read more…
The African-American Freedom Movement Through the Lens of Gandhian Nonviolence
MA Thesis — 137 pages — 2 MB PDF
By Chris Moore-Backman, MA
This thesis explores the meaning and application of the three definitive aspects of the Gandhian approach to nonviolence—personal transformation, constructive program (work of social uplift and renewal), and political action, then details the African-American Freedom Movement’s unique expression of and experimentation within those three spheres. Drawing on an in-depth review of historical, theoretical, and biographical literature, and an interview series with six living contemporaries of Martin Luther King Jr., the study highlights key similarities between the nonviolence philosophies and leadership of Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as similarities between the movements of which these leaders were a part. Significant differences are also noted, such as the African-American Freedom Movement’s relative lack of focused and systematized implementation of a constructive program along Gandhian lines. The study illustrates the degree to which the African-American Freedom Movement manifested Gandhian principles and practices, while also suggesting that contemporary nonviolence practitioners can identify ways in which the Gandhian approach can be more fully adopted.
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Active Nonviolence Across the World by Richard Deats, 2009 Read with Online PDF Reader : : : : Download PDF file In the 19th century, Victor Hugo wrote, “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.” Looking back over the past century, especially since the movements Gandhi and King led and inspired, we see the growing influence and impact of nonviolence as an idea whose time has come. |
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David Hartsough interview videos / articles:
Role of Media
Lessons Learned re Nonviolence
Peaceworkers History and Vision
Peace Activism
Marching in Gandhi’s Footsteps
Compassionate Listening: An Exploratory Sourcebook About Conflict Transformation
Gene Knudsen Hoffman and colleagues.
A Dialogue on Nonviolent Resistance and Liberation Theology — by Terry Messman This essay presents a heartfully imagined “conversation” between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Archbishop Oscar Romero, Gustavo Gutierrez, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Father Daniel Berrigan, Dorothee Sölle, Mohandas Gandhi, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Lynne Shivers, Gene Sharp, Thomas Merton, Fernando Cardenal, Miguel D’Escoto, members of a base community in Brazil, and Sister Ita Ford, who was assassinated in El Salvador in December, 1980.
Courageous Compassion:
A page of quotes from Gandhi summarizing
the fundamental principles of nonviolent
advocacy/resistance.
Compiled by Dennis Rivers.
Muscle Building for PEACE and JUSTICE
A nonviolent workout routine for the 21st century
Article by Pamela Haines
People prepare for war by going to boot camp. They are challenged to do things they have never done before, use muscles they never knew they had. They practice, stretch and exert. It’s hard work, and they sometimes wonder if it’s worth all the struggle and pain. But they come out better prepared to wage war. What if we put the same kind of intention, practice and hard work into developing the skills to wage peace? read more…
Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System Article by Donella Meadows. Meadows (1941-2001) taught environmental science at Dartmouth College for many years. She wrote “Leverage Points” partly to debunk the popular ‘leverage point’ idea that there were magical points in any system where a small amount of effort would create a big improvement. In the process, she created a careful and readable description of the many different levels at which one can work at intervening in all systems, great and small. This article has many implications for advocates of peace, justice and sustainability. read more…
Articles by Dennis Rivers
The Chord of Conscience: Eight Audiences of Nonviolent Protest
Hope from Ashes: Why Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki
THE SEVEN CHALLENGES COMMUNICATION SKILLS WORKBOOK (PDF)
nonviolent communication in everyday life
presented in cooperation with communication-skills.net
One-page Summary — Quick Reference to the Seven Challenges Workbook
How this workbook came to be, the Seven Challenges briefly described, and how we can build more effective work teams and happier families with a more cooperative style of listening and talking. These are the soft skills that can help you and your team go from just surviving to actively thriving.
pdf file of this chapter
Listen more carefully and responsively, acknowledging the feelings and wants that people express in word and mood. Actively acknowledging another person’s experience does not have to mean that you agree or approve. Compassionately allow people to feel whatever they feel. People are much more likely to listen if they have been listened to with actively expressed acknowledgments. web page ~ ~ pdf file
Communication Skills Challenge Two:
Explaining your conversational intent and inviting consent
by using one of 30 basic conversational invitations such as, “Right now I would like to take a few minutes and ask you about… [subject].” The more involvement a conversation is going to require of the other person, the more you will benefit by sharing your conversational goal and inviting the conscious cooperation of your conversation partner.
web page of this chapter ~ ~ pdf file of this chapter
Communication Skills Challenge Three:
Expressing yourself more clearly and more completely
how to express yourself in a way that gives your listeners the information they need to…
>> understand (mentally reconstruct) your experiences more fully
>> empathize with what you are experiencing
One good way is to discuss important topics is to slow down and use “the five I-messages”:
What/how I …
(1)observe,
(2)am feeling,
(3) because I interpret/evaluate/need, and now I
(4)want to request
so that…
(5)positive results I envision/hope for from request.
Equally good for self-understanding, also.
web page of this chapter ~ ~ pdf file of this chapter
Communication Skills Challenge Four:
Translating your criticisms and complaints into requests for action
and explaining the positive results of having your request granted. Do this for both your own complaints and the complaints that other family members and team members bring to you. Focusing on the positive outcome shows respect to the recipient of a request as having a positive contribution to make, and shifts focus from past mistakes to present and future successes.
web page of this chapter ~ ~ pdf file of this chapter
Communication Skills Challenge Five:
Asking questions more “open-endedly” and more creatively.
“How did you like that movie?” is an open-ended question that invites a wide range of answers. “Did you like it?” suggests only “yes” or “no” as answers and does not encourage discussion. Sincerely asked open-ended questions can open up our conversation partners. (How comfortable are you with this suggestion?)
web page of this chapter ~ ~ pdf file of this chapter
Communication Skills Challenge Six:
Thanking: Expressing more gratitude, appreciation, encouragement and delight…
…in everyday life. In a world full of problems, look for opportunities to give praise. Both at home and at work, it is the bond of appreciation that makes relationships strong enough to allow for problem-solving and differing needs.
web page of this chapter ~ ~ pdf file of this chapter
Communication Skills Challenge Seven:
Adopting the “living-as-continuous-learning” approach
Make the practices described in challenges 1 through 6 important parts of your everyday living, learning, team-building and family nurturing. Pay attention to each conversation as an opportunity to grow in skill, awareness and compassion. Work to redefine each of your “momentary opponents” in life as a learning and problem-solving partner. Assist the processes of change in your world by personally embodying the changes, virtues and styles of behavior you want to see in others.
web page of this chapter ~ ~ pdf file of this chapter
Download free PDF copy of The Seven Challenges Workbook
in English/Português/Español
Posters and Bumper Stickers
Click here for letter-size PDF poster.
Michael Thompson
From the photographic exhibit by Paul Dix: Nicaragua: Living With the Consequences Of U.S. Policy
Poster by Dennis Rivers
for a large collection of anti-war posters, please click here
