December 17, 2018
Image by Graylight, used under provisions of Creative Commons Attribution license 2.0.
As I was just starting work at IISC, back in 2005, our founding Executive Director Marianne Hughes, introduced the staff to the work of John Paul Lederach, and specifically his book The Moral Imagination. As I recall, she did this as a result of a sabbatical during which she explored the power of networks and of art in social change. These two things show up centrally in Lederach’s work. Lederach has spent years doing peace and reconciliation work in some of the most intense and entrenched conflicts in the world. And he writes not really as a master technician, but as a poet, which is very much by intention.
I thought of The Moral Imagination a couple of months ago, when I began to realize how starved many people I meet seem to be for alternatives to what we currently have as mainstream systems in this country. Many are speaking up against and resisting what is not working, has long been unjust, and is fundamentally sustainable, which is crucial. And in the absence of clear alternatives (see “reimagine” and “recreate” in Spirit in Action’s image below), what can ensue is … conflict. Entrenched conflict, with no creative point of release.
I also thought of Lederach’s book, because he writes how central networks, human webs, and authentic human connection is to the work of peacebuilding and reconciliation. Up until recently I had thought about peacebuilding as a field as having more to do with what goes on in “other places” like Ireland, Sudan, Colombia, Tajikistan. If nothing else, these past couple of years have provided a need to adjust that understanding – peacebuilding is needed at home.
So I’ve been scouring Lederach’s writings, and there is a lot that resonates. Lederach was recently featured on a powerful program of On Being with actress and activist America Ferrera (no doubt another reason he has been on my mind). There is much to say about The Moral Imagination, but for now I am offering some passages and quotes that struck a chord and I’m curious to hear what reactions those reading have … Read More
July 8, 2016
The discipline of mourning takes on new depths today. I mourn for the lives lost in the past week at the hands of police. I mourn for the lives lost in Dallas overnight. I fear for the lives of peaceful protesters who will be painted with the same brush as the Dallas snipers. I wonder how we will recover from this latest development and how we will keep it from spawning an escalating cycle of violence. Praying for wisdom, peace, justice, healing.
July 29, 2014
Last year, in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombing, I was facilitating a group of students and faculty at MIT reflecting on the impact and meaning of the bombing. The participants ranged from people who had been at the marathon site to those who witnessed it on TV. All experienced the lock down that occurred in Cambridge and felt the impact of the death of eight-year-old Martin William Richard, and many of them shared something deeper, the trauma of being an unwilling victim and sometimes perpetrator of planned, unexpected, unwarranted or thoughtless violence. From a former Israeli solider, who asked “do I kill these 4 men in my line of sight because of the threat they may pose?” to a woman who survived a brutal rape, the bombing made visible the deep trauma so many people live with from day to day.
But something remarkable happened that evening. As we sat in circle listening to each story a young veteran spoke up about his experience with violence in the streets of LA and the deserts of Iraq. He spoke with a deep passion that disrupted the quiet reflection of the group. “We can’t just sit around and talk about this. If things are going to change we have to shift something fundamental in ourselves in order to stop the massive violence in our world.” He continued, “For me it is the following commitment I have made to myself and that I tell each person I am engaged with I Will Not Harm Your Children.” Then he stopped.
His words rang true to all of us sitting in the room that night. From that meeting a commitment statement was drafted, that if we were each brave enough to accept and live by, would change the world.
I will not harm your children. I commit to live by this statement. I will do this by asking the following question before I act in the world: Will my action, policy, investment, statement harm children? If that is a possibility, I will find a way to change what I am about to do so that I do not harm a child.
Perhaps it is too simple. Yet I believe the simplicity is what makes it so powerful. Those who want to build a more just world are often hampered by competing visions of what framing should lead. Is it race, economic solidarity, workers rights, women’s rights? Each of these are important to know and understand. But none of them alone provide a guidepost that can help us act collectively across these differences. If we would allow ourselves to honestly commit to saying to those who we are about to engage with “I will not harm your children,” and commit to examining our actions for any possible harm that might occur, we could make a difference.
But for it to work we have to be honest about the multitude of ways in which we can harm children. Some harms are self-evident, like the over 100 children killed and scores injured or left without parents as a result of the bombing of Gaza, or the kidnapping of 200 young girls by Boko Haram, or the 11 year-old killed in a drive by shooting in Chicago, and the mass murder of 20 children in Newtown, CT and the 15 children killed in the Oklahoma bombing.
Each of us probably has our own list of the self-evident harms done to children. But some harms are not as self-evident, though just as wrong. Everyday 25,000 girls are forced to marry, 250 million of the worlds primary school children are not able to read, 16 million children in US live below the poverty line, and before the age of 18 the typical US child will be shown over 16,000 murders on television.
There are many ways we harm children in this world. We can best change that by what each of us chooses to do. So today as you go about your life, ask yourself: Will my action, policy, investment, statement, harm children? If that is a possibility, agree to find a way you can change what you are about to do so that you do not harm a child.
July 16, 2014
I have never observed the Fast of the 17th of Tamuz. Yesterday, I did. I fasted in solidarity with others who were making a stand with our bodies for peace and in mourning lives lost in Palestine/Israel. At a time of horrific violence and avowed enmity between so many Muslims and Jews, it was a comfort to be fasting together, during Ramadan.
The fasting helped me to reflect on the fear and brutality that lead a nation to choose bombing as a means of protection. I have been deeply saddened not only by the murder of four teenagers but the ensuing violence that has left many in fear and over 190 Palestinians and 1 Israeli dead. The disparity in numbers is not to be overlooked, it speaks to power and institutional might. The violence inflicts a wound on all our souls.
We have too many wounds, both our peoples. I am moved by the coverage that has people recognizing our shared humanity: children saying they don’t want children “on the other side” to be in fear either, Israelis visiting the family of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, members of an interfaith alliance in Jerusalem breaking their fasts together last night. It is love – seeing the legitimacy of the other — against the odds. It is love that liberates, that sheds the centuries (for Jews) of scars and fear and chooses instead to be whole.
Let us rejoice that, despite all, we have many acts of love and generosity and bravery, the kind of bravery that is about taking risks and standing together rather than relying on weapons and destruction. May Israel use her power for right, end the racism, and value the lives of Palestinians. May righteous leaders, on all sides of the Israel/Palestine conflict, emerge who can hone the path of peace and love.
December 6, 2013
VIDEO LINK: South Africans speak to the Meaning of Mandela
We join the world in mourning the passing of Nelson Mandela; a giant of a man; the very embodiment of the intimate link between power, networks and love. His grace and humility was unrivaled, his insistence on reconciliation was an inspiration to millions. Read More
April 23, 2012
Wonder why I’m passionate about collaborative process and strong, creative process design?
Join us at Fundamentals of Facilitation for Racial Justice Work on May 8-9 in Boston to explore these ideas and more!
You can’t have peace or justice without it. Consider the following:
“Peace comes from being able to contribute the best that we have, and all that we are, toward creating a world that supports everyone. But it is also securing the space for others to contribute the best that they have and all that they are.” So says Nigerian human rights and democracy activist, Hafsat Abiola. Her words echo those of John Paul Lederach , who wrote in The Moral Imagination that peace is not a condition—a process through which people can build relationships conflicting parties and continually engage to create a reality where “the other” continues to exist.
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September 27, 2011
By now you have heard that Wangari Maathai has died. I feel especially blessed to have met this remarkable woman before and after she became known on the world stage.
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