Eugene has a Beyond War Book Group that meets monthly to evaluate books and create discussion questions to include in a Beyond War Reader’s Guide in order to help other Book Discussion Groups.
The Nonviolence Handbook, A Guide for Practical Action by Michael Nagler
Like a fish living in water and unaware of it, we are unmindful of the worldview we operate in. A consequence of the scientific revolution that began in the eighteenth century is a system of thinking that emphasizes materialism, separateness and competition. Violence is seen as the norm. This interpretation of the world is so prevailing that we are largely ignorant that it is a construct. Recently science has undergone a shift that supports Gandhi’s view that all life is connected and “nonviolence is the real law of our species.”
While we work to overcome the cultural lag in this understanding, Nagler’s book provides a primer on nonviolence. As the title states it is “a guide for practical action,” and more, because Nagler argues that nonviolence is not a tactic, rather it is a living power. There are many examples of nonviolence in practice from Gandhi to Martin Luther King to Mandela to Tim DeJesus, recently released from prison for his nonviolent activism to protect the environment
Disputes, whether in personal relations or over issues we hold dear – economic and social justice, protecting the environment, striving for a world beyond war – are not a zero-sum game. It is not a matter of “for me to win, you have to lose.” As long as we try never to humiliate or accept humiliation, we can shift the ground to problem solving, where everyone’s needs are met.
Nagler’s discussion is infused with optimism. He writes that a nonviolent act will always have a useful effect. Even when it appears to have failed “it operates under the surface and sets in motion forces which ultimately lead to a new equation.”
To express nonviolence, Gandhi coined the term “satyagraha” based on Sanscrit and meaning “clinging to truth.” “The world rests on the bedrock of satya or truth. Asatya, meaning untruth, also means nonexistent, and satya or truth also means that which is. If untruth does not so much as exist, its victory is out of the question. And truth being that which is, can never be destroyed.”
What a joyous thought! The words of Enya’s song come to mind, “What tho’ the tempest round me roars, I hear the truth it liveth. . . How can I keep from singing!”