By Leonard Eiger
We should all be very clear that our nation and the whole world are at or near an existential tipping point. The question is, Which way will it go – to the light or towards the extreme darkness that those in power (and who exert force to their own, selfish ends) foolishly push humanity.
At a time when we honor the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a quote that could have come from Dr. King, yet is from another prophet (and poet), comes to mind: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace” – Jimi Hendrix. As Dr. King himself said (in a sermon), “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
In a world controlled and being driven to the brink by a small cabal of people who have apparently lost touch with their humanity, and live in the mire of fear, hatred, racism and greed, it is up to the vast majority of world citizens to rise up out of Love and in the Spirit of Nonviolence to put a stop to the Madness. We, in the movement for Peace and the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, have seen how all “legal” and socially accepted methods of voicing our concerns and protest have been ignored for decades. And that is a key reason why we turn to nonviolent direct action. Of course, when we do, we risk arrest, and take our cases to court where we are admonished that there are “legal” means available to address our concerns (blah, balh, blah…).
Nonviolence IS a powerful tool, and when nonviolent direct action is applied on a mass scale it surely cannot be ignored. So, then, perhaps the time has come for peace organizations to come together, not just in the US but around the globe, to engage in mass scale general strikes targeting the machinery of death – the likes of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, and far too many others to mention without using terabytes of space!!! We must appeal to people at every level of the process – the scientists, engineers, production workers… shutting down every aspect of manufacturing the tools of death and devastation).
Activists at the Bangor Trident Base Main Gate holding a peaceful vigil on January 15, 2022. Bangor represents the largest operational concentration of nuclear weapons in the US arsenal. (Photo Credit: Tom Rogers)
And, when it comes to nuclear weapons currently deployed, we continue calling on Navy personnel to “Refuse to engage in nuclear annihilation!” The Paid Public Service Announcement was run most recently in the Kitsap Sun newspaper on January 2nd.
I think it safe to say that Dr. King and Jimi Hendrix would both be in agreement with such a call; one that is essentially a call for noncooperation. Ground Zero co-founder Shelley Douglass once said that, “The discipline of nonviolence requires of us that we move into the various forms of noncooperation. We will probably move slowly, one step at a time. Each step will lead to another step; each step will be a withdrawal from support of what is wrong and at the same time a building of an alternative.”
Many have (particularly recently) clearly articulated the alternatives that we must put in place to replace the destructive status quo; now to withdraw our support en masse!!!
The official MLK holiday here in the US, is a day of remembrance – rallies, speeches, community cleanups, and even a few, small nonviolent direct actions. Yet, Dr. King calls us to much more. Let us redouble our efforts going forward to bring about a better world now and for the sake of future generations.
The choice is simple – Nonviolence or Nonexistence!
