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I have been attending the Friends Meetings in Seattle, on the Eastside, (=
Quakers) and I have been struggling with the pacifist teachings of the Qu=
akers. I am not trying to impose any way of thinking, but these are hard=
issues that I am wrestling with.
Several weeks ago one of the women at the Meeting said she was feeling so=
upset because the Blue Angels were in Seattle and she had to see them an=
d hear them. The same woman separately talked about her dog that had sav=
ed her from being attacked and raped. I thought she was being contradict=
ory, because the purpose of the military is to prevent crime at a nationa=
l and global level. If she were really a pacifist, why didn=E2=80=99t sh=
e merely submit to the attack and the rape? (I don=E2=80=99t mean this.)
When George Fox (the founder of the Quakers) developed his pacifist ideal=
s, it was a time of colonial expansion in England, not a time of national=
defense. However, he said that every war and every act of violence carr=
y with it the seeds for future wars and future violence. I really believ=
e this is true. =20
But remember that before WWII, when Hitler was expanding his area of cont=
rol, the leaders of the world tried =E2=80=9Cappeasement.=E2=80=9D It di=
dn=E2=80=99t work, and the ultimate effort to defeat him may have been mo=
re difficult because appeasement was tried and failed.
I don=E2=80=99t agree that the U.S. was involved in the Middle East for s=
elfish purposes, but rather I believe it was a good faith effort to impro=
ve the horrible situation there. I believe that saying =E2=80=9Cwe broug=
ht this on ourselves=E2=80=9D is not right. I understand that not everyo=
ne believes this (=E2=80=9Cwe had to control the oil=E2=80=9D), and I don=
=E2=80=99t know the ultimate truth. It=E2=80=99s almost like when a crim=
inal kills policemen we say, =E2=80=9Cthe police brought it on themselves=
because they wouldn=E2=80=99t leave the criminals alone.=E2=80=9D =20
Being a pacifist in my normal day to day life is wonderful. (I don=E2=80=
=99t have to give mean looks to the guy that pulled in front of me; I don=
't have to fight to keep "my" place in line.) I can just let it go. But=
how does being a pacifist work in an extreme situation like this?
I don=E2=80=99t know ...Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer downloa=
d : http://explorer.msn.com
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<HTML><BODY STYLE=3D"font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV>I have been at=
tending the Friends Meetings in Seattle, on the Eastside, (Quakers) and I=
have been struggling with the pacifist teachings of the Quakers.<SPAN st=
yle=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I am not trying to impose any way=
of thinking, but these are hard issues that I am wrestling with. <P clas=
s=3DMsoNormal>Several weeks ago one of the women at the Meeting said she =
was feeling so upset because the Blue Angels were in Seattle and she had =
to see them and hear them.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN=
>The same woman separately talked about her dog that had saved her from b=
eing attacked and raped.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I=
thought she was being contradictory, because the purpose of the military=
is to prevent crime at a national and global level.<SPAN style=3D"mso-sp=
acerun: yes"> </SPAN>If she were really a pacifist, why didn=E2=80=99=
t she merely submit to the attack and the rape?<SPAN style=3D"mso-spaceru=
n: yes"> </SPAN>(I don=E2=80=99t mean this.)</P> <P class=3DMsoNorm=
al>When George Fox (the founder of the Quakers) developed his pacifist id=
eals, it was a time of colonial expansion in England, not a time of natio=
nal defense.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>However, he s=
aid that every war and every act of violence carry with it the seeds for =
future wars and future violence.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> =
</SPAN>I really believe this is true.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes">&n=
bsp; </SPAN></P> <P class=3DMsoNormal>But remember that before WWII, when=
Hitler was expanding his area of control, the leaders of the world tried=
=E2=80=9Cappeasement.=E2=80=9D<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> <=
/SPAN>It didn=E2=80=99t work, and the ultimate effort to defeat him may h=
ave been more difficult because appeasement was tried and failed.</P> <P =
class=3DMsoNormal>I don=E2=80=99t agree that the U.S. was involved in the=
Middle East for selfish purposes, but rather I believe it was a good fai=
th effort to improve the horrible situation there.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spac=
erun: yes"> </SPAN>I believe that saying =E2=80=9Cwe brought this o=
n ourselves=E2=80=9D is not right.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> =
; </SPAN>I understand that not everyone believes this (=E2=80=9Cwe had to=
control the oil=E2=80=9D), and I don=E2=80=99t know the ultimate truth.<=
SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It=E2=80=99s almost like w=
hen a criminal kills policemen we say, =E2=80=9Cthe police brought it on =
themselves because they wouldn=E2=80=99t leave the criminals alone.=E2=80=
=9D<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></P> <P class=3DMsoNor=
mal>Being a pacifist in my normal day to day life is wonderful.<SPAN styl=
e=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> (</SPAN>I don=E2=80=99t have to give mean =
looks to the guy that pulled in front of me; I don't have to fight to kee=
p "my" place in line.)<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>I c=
an just let it go.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>But how=
does being a pacifist work in an extreme situation like this?</P><SPAN s=
tyle=3D"FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font=
-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-languag=
e: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">I don=E2=80=99t know ...</SPAN></DIV>=
</BODY></HTML><br clear=3Dall><hr>Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explor=
er download : <a href=3D'http://explorer.msn.com'>http://explorer.msn.com=
</a><br></p>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Tue Jan 08 2002 - 09:19:36 PST