Week 7 - Assigned Reading - Peace, Non-violence, and Conflict Resolution

Peace, Non-violence, and Conflict Resolution. Three things that many people claim they strive for yet approach in vastly different ways and with different attitudes. Gandhi's principal of non-violence, or ahimsa, does have the distinction of being one of the few success stories, however. I couldn't say why this is the case though as there have been many instances of non-violent rebellion that have ended in tragedy. There have also been cases of violent rebellion that have ended in, relatively speaking, a peaceful resolution (America is the perfect example).

I do have a great deal of respect for Gandhi's approach though. It is very practical as you don't need to teach people how not to fight, they already know how to do that. That isn't to say that people “wont” fight, just that anyone can “not” fight. Does that make sense? I hope so. It is also non-hypocritical. No one can say that you aren't practicing what you preach. That gives a great deal of credibility to it.

I also like Gandhi's understanding of his own philosophy. Ahimsa isn't a personal approach to life or salvation, it is meant for society. Unless everyone partakes in the crusade then little good will come of it. This is true of most social upheavals and non-violence is no different. It is something that would be more difficult to spread outside of actual instruction though. It is easy to raise your fists when someone does the same, but how do you spread an approach of non-violence? If one person simply refuses to fight then they could be labeled a coward, idiot, etc. To spread something of this nature requires a great deal of diligence and that as well makes it more credible.