What is Peace?

These are disturbing times.  The last few weeks have been especially troubling.  All around us are fear and violence and prejudice and anger and hatred.  It is not controversy or debate that bothers me; after all I am often one of those stirring the pot and asking uncomfortable questions. 

What is disturbing is the level of dysfunction and lack of clear ideological consistency that abounds on all sides and on almost every subject.  It seems that many of the labels we use are being redefined; things as basic as what it means to be an American or a Republican or a Christian.  It is easier when things are calm and there is not rampant fear and people don’t feel threatened.  But when people are under stress it is easy to get them to throw their morals and philosophies under the bus in favor of “pragmatic solutions” that promise to deal with the perceived problems quickly, even if they may violate core principles.

America was founded on a pretty clear set of core principles.  They were written down, so that we would not forget.  One of those core principles was clarified in the First Amendment to our US Constitution.  It reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

As Americans, we cannot prohibit the free exercise of religion; ANY religion.  We also decided that the right of people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.  We also made it clear that “…the people are to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures”, and that any warrants must be specific and list probable cause.

There is no clause anywhere that says these things apply only if we are not afraid or not offended. Our Attorney General threatens to prosecute offensive speech and a presidential candidate indicates “it may be necessary” to curtail some freedoms to address a threat.  Others make it clear they don’t think they need those pesky warrants because they really need your information.  And of course there is a big push right now to infringe on your right to keep and bear arms.

“If tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.  Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other.  War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; and armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few.  In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive is extended, its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied, and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force, of the people…[There is also an] inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war, and…degeneration of manners and of morals…No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.” –James Madison (1793)

“Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear – kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor – with the cry of grave national emergency.  Always there has been some terrible evil at home or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it.” – General Douglas MacArthur, 1957

“A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion.  Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious.  On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side.” – Aristotle

We are being whipped into a frenzy of fear by media and politicians.  It is not good for us, but it serves their purposes.  Whether they want to get elected or raise taxes or advance an agenda they realize they cannot do so unless they convince us that the need is urgent.  We will not give up our freedoms or violate our core values without the cloud of emotion fogging our brains.

If the idea of America is to have meaning it must be a consistent meaning.  America is supposed to be a place of freedom and equality.  We have always been a melting pot of people and ideas.  We are great not because of genetics or culture or natural resources.  We are great because of the core principles we were founded upon. 

America is great because America is not so much a place as it is an idea.  We shook off the yoke of kings and tyranny and founded a unique society where the ideas of liberty and equality ruled the day.  Those great core principles have served as a beacon of hope to people around the world.  It is not our trip to the moon or our wonderful television programs.  It is not our sports teams or our wonderful food.  It is our ideas.  The ones we seem to be ignoring.

When we interact with the rest of the world they expect us to lead with those same core values.  We must defend ourselves, but we do not need to bomb other nations into believing what we do.  We need to simply lead by example, and stick to what made us remarkable.  When we act otherwise we don’t just tarnish our image; we take away hope from many.

The same is true of the Republican Party.  Republicans are supposed to be the party of limited government and fiscal responsibility and liberty and free markets.  When core values are set aside in favor of more pragmatic concerns then so is the integrity of the party.  Just like America, the Republican Party is supposed to represent a set of ideas.  But those ideas become meaningless if they do not line up with actions.

I had hoped that Republicans would be the ones to hold steadfast to core principles and to represent my values, since those things would seem to be at the core of Republican philosophy.  There are some who are doing just that, and I stand with them.  But the Republican Party has lost all credibility on almost every front on all that I hold dear.  The party leadership has an agenda that is not in line with the people they represent.

I have grown uncomfortable with some of the labels that people are using because I am no longer certain what they mean.  Simple labels that I used to think I understood like American, Republican, and Christian.  Since people who use those labels have diametrically opposed ideas about issues and even hold completely different values I am more than a little confused.

With that backdrop, I wanted to talk about Christmas.  In less than a week we will celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.  Whatever else you want to say about Christians, they are by definition followers of Jesus Christ.  Catholics and Baptists and Methodists will gather in a week to give thanks for the birth of the same man.  They will disagree on some minor theological points but they all read the same words from the same book.

Let’s take a look at some of those words.  Jesus said,

“But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.  Bless those that curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to them the other also.  If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them.”

I must say that is a radical idea.  He also said, 

 

“Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you”, and “Do not judge, and you shall not be judged; do not condemn, and you shall not be condemned.  Forgive, and you shall be forgiven”.

 

Many, such as the Quakers, interpret the words of Jesus as meaning they must be pacifists.  I tend to see these ideas as a very strict code of non-aggression but if I see someone killing innocent children I will not stand by passively and watch; I will act to defend them and stop the violence.  Jesus saw injustice with the moneychangers in the temple and he acted to correct it by overturning their tables and making them stop.

On the other hand, when one of his disciples came to his defense against the Romans he said,

“Put your sword back in its place.  For all who take the sword will perish by the sword”. 

I think the message of Jesus of Nazareth is a powerful message of peace and mercy and forgiveness, not war.  I know many disagree and will cite the danger we face from Islam.  They will quote passages from the Quran and note atrocities by the followers of Mohammed and they will point to history, which shows a pattern of aggression over the centuries.

I will not quarrel with the history or analyze the Quran; and we can all see that there are radical Jihadists that threaten us. What I will point out to Christians is how Christ said we should deal with our enemies – with love, and forgiveness, and mercy.  Our human nature makes this a real struggle but I would also point out that this is a very powerful, rather than a weak, approach.  As St. Paul noted in his letter to the Romans, “If thine enemy is hungry, give him food; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing thou wilt heap coals of fire upon his head.”

Jesus went on to clarify that this was not just about the words we speak or the things we do.  The real battle to do right occurs in the heart of the individual. He said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”  He makes in clear in the Sermon on the Mount that the sin is not in the doing or the saying but in the heart.  The hatred and fear and anger need to be changed in your own heart and mind, and then you can see about healing the world.“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to what is honorable in the sight of all.”

As Americans, Republicans, or Christians I would ask that you re-examine your core values and return to them.  Abandon the fear.  Quiet the voices of the politicians and the media and figure out what you believe.  Realize that you need to stick with that little kernel of truth, that part of your soul that knows right from wrong.  And then act accordingly.

Peace is not just the absence of violence.  Freedom is not just the absence of chains.  Real peace is a sense of calm inside a person that exists regardless of their circumstances.  Madison did not see liberty as freedom from fear or offensive ideas.  Jefferson did not envision a “safe space” where people would be free from uncomfortable ideas or ideologies.  And Jesus did not see peace as a lack of conflict or complete security from any that might do us harm.  Peace is a state of mind; a feeling in the soul.  When you have it the immediate cares of the world are not so troubling.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you…Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” – Jesus of Nazareth