Pacifism.... there's a rub.

I got to thinking about this again today for some reason and decided to write my thoughts down. Retirement sure allows a person to the take the time to think about this crazy world... and the future beyond.

As you may already know, I consider myself a pacifist of sorts. I'm honest enough about it to say I can't tell you what I'd do in a situation that required me to choose between violence and passivity. My past would surely condemn me as a hypocrite. End of story.  But, I would hope that I would be able to stand my expanding, peaceful ground and use my intellect (okay...), my calm demeanor (yeah, right) and my smooth tongue (I'm in serious trouble) to disarm the situation or even the person. Good cops do it every day. Of course, they're carrying a small arsenal on their person...kind of cheating, eh? Oh well, some cheating I'm OK with, as long as they don't abuse it. A couple people I'm close to heard that.

Now, in everyday life, it is a very rare occasion that requires us regular folk to even approach the subject, unless, of course, you are still in the habit of frequenting late night drinking establishments. 

But, back to the rub I'm speaking of.. Pacifism is a loser. I know that. But, it is also the only winner. It would not be too hard for anyone who has considered the idea of pacifism to predict the outcome of a fight between an antagonist and a pacifist. Sorry pacifist, it's a knockout. Pacifism cannot work. It wouldn't take long for all the pacifists to meet their maker and the antagonists to rule the world. Most people stop there and go with the obvious, that Pacifism cannot work.

Well.... most people. Then there are those of us who look at the history of the world and where we are right now (Syria, Israel/Palestine, a big part of Africa, Russia/Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.,etc.) and wonder... what would it take for the world to find peace. Then pacifism begins to make more sense(at least, in a spiritual sense.. and I'm in it for the long haul). If no one hurts, hits, stabs, shoots, bombs another... BAM, we find ourselves at peace. Whoa, I'm liking it. But, how do we get there? That's the difficult part. It starts with each of us. Whatever community, city, state, country we live in, whatever race we are (let's just go with shades of brown), whatever religion.. Christian, Muslim, Buddhism, Hinduism, Atheism.. we belong to, our neighbors need to hear from those of us who understand this simple principal and want to live in peace. 

As for the picture up there.. I don't care which religion you belong to, all the greatest spiritual leaders will tell you the same thing about violence.. pick yours.. I'm sure it's about peace, love, compassion, living in harmony. I just know more about Jesus' teachings than any other. And contrary to what many in organized Christianity will tell you, he taught Pacifism. It was no coincidence that he died without a fight, allowing himself to be beaten and nailed/tied to the cross, sentenced to death by a foreign governor in his own country which was being occupied by the violent  oppressors of his fellow countrymen.

Heavy stuff to think about..I think I need to lighten the mood. We should all slap some sense into people and get them to understand how simple it is... ohhh... scratch that... I'm a pacifist. Seriously though, each of us who understand this, need to speak up. There are more of us than the world knows. We need to watch our thoughts, our actions. We need to reach out to others in friendship. We need to lift others up, rather than put them down. We need to work at being kinder, gentler people. The more people that do that, the better the world will be, next door and across the planet. We need to stand up for peace. And that is what I just did.