We are, as a culture, so caught up in a myth that we cannot see it, and here it is again, this week, following the Paris massacres.
That myth is the Myth of Redemptive Violence* – that somehow, by offering violence back in the face of violence, everything turns out well – that goodness triumphs and everything is safe.
Our movies are filled with this myth, our sci-fi books, and certainly our news media and many video games.
The myth goes like this: in the face of violence, or hatred, or aggression, we respond with GREATER violence, hatred and aggression – and we win.
But this is not football or even hockey. This is our world. And any public school classroom teacher with an ounce of wisdom has learned this: in the face of violence and provocation, a violent response (even if it wins for the moment) is almost sure to provoke greater violence in the future.
In fact, basic psychology can predict that the original perpetrator of the violence is actually HOPING for a serious push-back.
Any parent or teacher who’s ever tried to use wisdom in being with young people knows this.
So why are our international leaders so full-throttle-ahead to do what any smart junior high teacher would resist doing?
Here we come to the Myth of Redemptive Violence. Somehow, by offering violence back in the face of violence, everything turns out well. The problem is, it doesn’t work. Ever. Even in the case of the “good guys” winning, the hatred simply goes underground and pops back up a few years later, with more resentment, more recruits (easy to recruit after the violent push-back), and more sophisticated tactics.
The worst part is that much of this Revenge-Politics-Warfare is justified in the name of Christianity.
Are you kidding me?
Jesus taught the opposite of Redemptive Violence. His very death was a demonstration of non-resistance, of love and forgiveness overcoming violence.
The redemption Jesus taught was love. Compassion. Forgiveness. Even surrender in some circumstances.
I’m not a foreign policy expert and I don’t know the right response. But I wonder – how would things play out if there were no declarations of “war to end all wars,” no battle cries? What if there were prayer circles everywhere for those lost and their loved ones? What if those in power gave up the rhetoric, but quietly used all channels available to them to track down the actual persons – the individuals and the group – responsible for the killings to bring them to justice? What if there were no bombing of nations to cause civilians to cower and eventually hate the bombers – and then join the terrorists? What if there were think tanks of the most brilliant and loving people on the planet called together to break the hold that terrorism has on the planet? What if startling and outrageous loving actions were put into place to shake the grip of the terrorists? What if multi-cultural and multi-faith groups stepped up with plans to work locally on reducing the power of terrorism?
A little film came across my Facebook feed today. A Muslim man stood blindfolded in the Place de la Republique in Paris. At his feet are two signs, saying: “I’m a Muslim, but I’m told that I’m a terrorist.” The second sign reads, “I trust you, do you trust me? If YES, HUG ME.” Many Parisians did, often with tears. He stayed until dusk, when he spoke, saying “A terrorist is … someone willing to kill another human being over nothing. A Muslim would never do that. Our religion forbids it.” (Search for BLINDFOLD MUSLIM HUG if you want to see it)
We live in a time when people of many religions are using the mask of religion to justify murder. It’s time to recognize this dynamic for what it is. It’s time to call the terrorists “murderers” and nothing more. It’s time to slow down our reactive fury and grief. It’s time to consider wisdom in our response.
Here is a young man who did just that – Antoine Leiris’, who lost his wife and mother of his son that night in Paris. This is what greater wisdom looks like. Here’s a reading of the letter he posted on Facebook just a day or two after the massacre: http://on.aol.ca/video/i-won-t-give-you-the-gift-of-hating-you-519258337 This is one way to break the cycle of never-ending violence.
*Thanks to the Reverend Sallye Taylor for speaking on the topic of the Myth of Redemptive Violence.
