My old friend, Reverend Maurice McCrackin, tested his actions against the question, "What Would Jesus Do?" Jesus would not be shooting people with guns; He would not be shooting children; He would not protect his few worldy possessions with lethal force.
I am probably not a total pacifist, but I believe in peaceful, nonviolent resistance. I think it is a good and effective strategy. Violence so often begets more violence. As Gandhi said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth will leave the world blind and toothless."
Peace begins with me--and you.
Don't abet violence; don't seek revenge; put a stop to violence with non-lethal means whenever that is possible (and it is possible most of the time). Keep guns locked away if you own them.
Here is a Judy Collins's song about how one person can begin creating a world of peace:
Fortune of Soldiers
Words and Music by Judy Collins, David Buskin, Dwight Batteau, Jr.
Was the fortune of soldiers to be always at war
Sighting down the barrel at whatever comes
Till the fighters forgot what they're doing it for
And reason was lost in the sound of the drums
Twas the fortune of soldiers to be always alone
Forgetting the faces of all their loved ones
Far from their daydreams, far from their homes
Love songs were drowned in the sound of the drums
Don't you know the dream has come true
Don't you know by now the dream has come true
When they say peace can never be
It's a fantasy
They didn't know about you
Don't you know the dream has come true
Don't you know by now the dream has come true
When they said peace can never be
They just couldn't see
What one dreamer can do
Tis the fortune of bankers and builders of arms
To worship the profit however it comes
Up in their towers, sheltered from harm
Far from the smoke and the sound of the drums
Tis the fortune of dreamers to see what they see
To live with the scorn till the miracle comes
To teach us the music and show us the key
And the chorus to silence the sound of the drums
Don't you know the dream has come true
Don't you know by now the dream has come true
When they say peace can never be
It's a fantasy
They didn't know about you
Don't you know the dream has come true
Don't you know by now the dream has come true
When they say that peace can never be
They just couldn't see what one dreamer can do
Tis the fortune of children to have such a choice
To grow up to be dreamers or builders of guns
Born to be angels, born to rejoice
Not to grow up to the sound of the drums
Don't you know the dream has come true
Don't you know by now the dream has come true
When they say peace can never be
It's just a fantasy
They didn't know about you
Don't you know the dream has come true
Don't you know by now the dream has come true
When they said that peace can never be
It's a fantasy
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