Posted by
Conservative Wordsmith on Thursday, September 13, 2007 8:47:01 PM
Conservative Wordsmith Susan Baldwin writes: Is it a good idea to teach students to be pacifists? Or should they be taught to be more aggressive? Do you remember the scene in the movie Witness in which Harrison Ford fought the bullies that were taunting his new Amish friends? I was cheering for him, as was the whole audience.
Pacifism is an ideal, but even Jesus said to his disciples that they would hear of wars and rumors of wars, and that these things must be. He also told them to constantly pray and watch, in other words, be on one's guard at all times. This is exactly what I remember President Bush saying after 9/11--that we should always be on our guard and alert.
If everyone in the world were a pacifist, it would be wonderful. But history has taught us that power can corrupt "even the very elect." Eventually, some of the pacifists in this supposed ideal world would become angry at certain people for various reasons, and begin to assume an evil leadership position; and the others, who would still be peaceful pacifists, would have no way of defending themselves. They might even refuse to defend themselves, as the Amish did in Witness.
Did Jesus think that people should never try to defend themselves in the face of evil? He did say to turn the other cheek if someone slapped it, but I don't think he was referring to severe aggression or murder. A slap is not a pleasant thing, but it probably would not kill someone in most cases.
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*The original date of this revised post was 5/31/2007.
Conservative Wordsmith Susan Baldwin, author of the Conservative Wordsmith Weblog, appreciates your thoughts and comments.