It may seem like semantics, but because words are what we have I'd like to suggest that Ghandi was against pacifism; and was absolutely for non-violent activism. There's a big difference.

word.

I had a conversation with my son today about how to be a peaceful leader. I told him that he needs to "live long enough to see himself become the villain." I told him he should be practicing now asking his siblings if they are making wise choices, not telling on them, but keeping them accountable (becoming a villain to his brother and sisters). I hope to prepare the way for my children to become better than I am.

yeah one of the books I'm currently reading has made a point to draw a distinction between pacifism and non-violent activism or peacemaking. That's a good point to make.

I would just like to clarify that that would really be considered "a few" points rather than "a couple"...

Your welcome, little brother.

Very intriguing. (that's a wierdly spelled word right there.) I like the difference stated by our friend Ike. I often assume wimpiness when I think about our own children not being violent. Like they would be perceived as wimpy. I'd like to adjust that...

i think that, because the peaceful people out-weigh the gun toting people, Hanni will be just fine.

Yes, pacifism can require courage but also it takes much courage and valor to defend the weak and the powerless in a more direct and bold way. God calls us to defend the weak and the powerless - what does that look like ?

marm

I get what you're saying Marm and I think it's a hugely important thing to think through. The more I learn about non violent activism the more I'm understanding that it takes a great amount of creativity and courage.
Seriously, what does it look like to defend the powerless in a non violent way? That is not an answer that I can write out because of its completely situational nature (not to mention that I'm still trying to figure this all out myself). But maybe there are ways that we can defend the powerless by standing next to them, holding their hands, suffering with them in ways that brings awareness to their plight.
Anyway, I think that's a very valid question that needs to be wrestled with. Anyone have some good suggestions or situations they've read about or encountered?

On another quick note I realized that i needed to clarify my use of the word "peacemaking". When I used this word what I had in my head was finding non violent (or peaceful) ways of bringing change or protecting the downtrodden. The confusion is that often non violent activism often includes a lot of actions that are not directly peaceful (in other words you are probably going to piss lots of people off!). I hope that clarifys a bit.