Revolution of Values

You can't look around the world and not realize that we can be, and often are, extremely brutal and aggressive. And equally, we have inherited tendencies of love, compassion, and altruism, because they're there in the chimp. So, we've brought those with us. So, it's like each one of us has this dark side and a more noble side. And I guess it's up to each one of us to push one down and develop the other. -- Jane Goodall

The question of the entanglement of violence and civilization is as old as history, and as Ms Goodall insight-fully posits, it is prehistorical. Civilization is the antithesis of violence. Civilization is the means of human interaction beyond the physical intimidation of the fist, sword or gun. Nonetheless, if in part, you define civilization as order, violence remains a cornerstone of every civilization across history. Beneath the thin veneer of non-violent civilized interaction inevitably lurks the thick pillars of violence. Removing civilization from its violent underpinnings remains one of history's great acts of revolution. The 20th century was unprecedented in recorded history for bringing forth thought and action on civilizing civilization -- recognizing and extracting its violent content.

Nonviolent politics is always a social construct, comprised of millions of individuals, but four 20th century figures represent and helped define this civilizing movement, providing us with a glimpse of a path for the 21st century. These figures are Mohandas Gandhi in India, Martin Luther King in the United States, Mikhail Gorbachev in Russia, and Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Literally representing the four corners of the globe, these figures revealed the underlying violence of their respective cultures in an attempt to build anew upon a stronger foundation. All would come to conclude in the words of Dr. King, what was needed was a "revolution of values."

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.

We can begin with Gandhi, who became a great figure in the politics of nonviolence by helping lead the Indian independence movement from Britain. Gandhi began his politics in South Africa at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. South Africa, as India, was under the rule of the British empire. Asians, such as Indians were second class citizens, as were the native Africans. Using nonviolent tactics, Gandhi helped organize against the most egregiously racist of British laws. He would return to India and for four decades fight for Indian independence from the British. The great lesson of Gandhi was that all oppression held a component of violence. Time and custom blended this violence into the background. The key aspect of political nonviolence was to bring the violence of the system to the forefront and then no longer bow to it. This is done by no longer following the established custom, forcing citizens to take a public blow, thus revealing the system's underlying violence. Gandhi was a sublime character and maybe no more so than for his faith in humanity. Anyone who could publicly say he was relying on the underlying humanity of the English, despite all proven evidence to the contrary, was quite extraordinary.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

Martin Luther King would take Gandhi's practices and thought and help turn them into one of the most powerful democratic forces in American history. The Civil Rights movement saw a population only two and three generations removed from the shackles of slavery, stand-up, revitalize, and redefine the words and principles of one of history's few republics. The American republic -- the fount for defining much of what came to be known as self-government in the modern era -- had two centuries before been birthed in the violent and abhorrent institution of slavery. The abolition of slavery was accompanied with the rise of state-sanctioned segregation, politically and economically disenfranchising most of America's black population for almost another century.

The nights in jail, beatings, the dogs of Bull Conner, and the murders were all in response to the black population actively rejecting Jim Crow, thus publicly revealing the violence at the system's foundation. Despite all proven evidence to the contrary, MLK had faith in white America. In the last year of his life, Dr. King developed a "Poor People's" campaign. It was a beginning to the rejecting the violence of poverty. He stated,

I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. When machines and computers, profit and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

Violence remains the great invisible hand beneath much of our economics. It needs to be brought to the surface if we are to civilize our economy.

Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

The third figure is Mikhail Gorbachev. Unlike Mr. Gandhi and Mr. King, Gorbachev never claimed adherence to nonviolence, yet he undertook one of the greatest and most unprecedented acts of nonviolence in human history. He allowed the peaceful disintegration of the Soviet Union. When protests in Eastern Europe gained steam in the late 80s, they were not met with violence to keep order. Twenty-years ago as the Berlin Wall collapsed, Mr. Gorbachev had a half-million troops in East Germany, they remained in their barracks. Despite all proven evidence to the contrary, Mr. Gorbachev had a great faith in humanity. His lesson remains particularly relevant for the United States.

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Finally, there is Nelson Mandela. Mr. Mandela is another who never professed nonviolence. The ANC, which he was a member, fought a very bloody war for decades across southern Africa. For most of that time, Mr Mandela was imprisoned, the time he regarded as "wasted life." In the early 90s, as the apartheid regime was in their last days, the government sent Mandela a letter asking him to renounce violence, then they would release him. Mr. Mandela responded wryly saying his present position under the forceful hands of the state allowed him to take no such position.

But, it was upon his release and his ascendancy to the presidency where Mr. Mandela would add a new chapter to the lessons of non-violence. He was both forgiving and non-vindictive, incredibly so. Nothing can be so violent and brutal as righteous vengeance, and the vast majority of South Africans had justice on their side. I recently saw Invictus and highly recommend. Someone told me, "It's not a good sports movie," and I replied, "No, it's not, but it's a very good political movie, considering Hollywood doesn't do politics well." Despite all proven evidence to the contrary, Nelson Mandela had faith in white South Africa. The power of forgiveness might be the most extraordinary of political weapons, yet forgiveness cannot begin until power is held accountable, an unjust system overturned, and the violence of power upended.

Civilization ends where violence begins. We are a long way from civilizing our civilization. We in America are a long way down a failed path of trying to secure our standard of living through violence. We would do well learning some important lessons from the last hundred years.