Ed Snyder posits that anger, fear, success, and guilt offer only short bursts of energy for peace and justice — not the spiritual resources needed for a lifetime of action and advocacy.
Let me begin by identifying four motives which sometimes energize peacemakers, but which, in my opinion, do not have the necessary sustaining power. All four are legitimate human motives which at times are very important and quite appropriate. But for the long pull each has crucial drawbacks.
Motives with Drawbacks
Anger
There are a good many things in this world to be angry about- injustices, needless suffering, wrongdoing, manipulation. There are plenty of causes for righteous indignation, but we must be wary. Even though our anger may be directed at world hunger, war, dictatorships, for example, it soon tends to focus on a particular person or group who becomes the “enemy”. This road leads rapidly to dehumanizing others and to oversimplifying our analysis as we search for solutions. This attitude, if taken up by masses of people or by nations, ultimately creates a war spirit.
If we believe that “evil is not overcome by evil, evil is overcome by good,” we need to learn more about how to channel anger into positive energy and react to injustice in a nonviolent spirit that recognizes human complexity and paradox.
Fear
There are also many things to be fearful of in today’s world- nuclear war, pollution, inadequate economic systems. Fear is a crucial emotion. It can alert us to danger. We need to sort out the realistic fears from the fears which are the product of our imagination or of manipulations by others. Governments are notorious for describing outside threats in such a way as to extract the largest sums of money from their people in order to build up their military establishments in an attempt to find security through arms.
The problem with fear as a motive is that it can lead to paralysis if we find no way to act. The threat of nuclear war is a prime example. In frustration, we are apt to pretend there is no danger and to forget the whole thing. Or we may turn to “experts” or to oversimplified “solutions” which plunge us into despair when they fail.
But if we believe that “perfect love casts out fear” and that “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind,” we can live with ambiguity and risk; we can take specific relevant next steps which may help to overcome the danger.
Success
We Americans are enamored of success in the world’s terms, though, as Raymond Wilson notes, there is very little about success in the New Testament. A favorite put-down around Capital Hill is- “that idea can’t win.” There is a strong tendency to judge ourselves and others by numbers. Did we get more votes this year than last? Were there more people at the meeting than before? Emphasis on immediate success can cause us to forget the deeper currents moving in our society and in the world. In our rush to carry out a potentially successful program we may feel too busy to help a hurting individual, though helping that person might have been the most important single act of the day. Emphasis on success can also lead us to concentrate on short-term attainable goals, which may contribute little or nothing to long-term fundamental solutions.
Guilt
Our high ideals and impossible goals weigh heavy on Friends at times. The FCNL policy calls for a world free of war, a society with justice for all, a community where every person’s potential may be fulfilled and an earth restored. Who can possibly do enough to achieve these objectives?
Often we feel we should work harder, reducing that time we would set aside for personal relaxation, or a family outing, or even just a little more sleep. As for money, almost all of us feel we should dig a little deeper than we do for good causes.
The problem with action motivated guilt is that it tends to create resentment, defensiveness and subtle resistance. These feelings can prevent us from making the generous outgoing response that is so important to the world and to one’s own conscience. Also, if we accept someone else’s agenda, out of guilt, we may not be true to our own personal search to know the will of God for our own lives.
Spiritual Resources for the Long Haul
If motivation based on anger, fear, success, or guilt is dubious, where do we look? It seems to me that the spiritual resources for the long haul must begin with an abiding faith that peace is the will of God, and must be grounded in a belief that the human race is one family. Peacemaking finds its power in love-in-action, much as Paul spoke of it in his first letter to the Corinthians. It takes its model form the life and teachings of Jesus, and seeks to comprehend the mystery of His death and resurrection.
A supporting community and balance are essential. With warm friends, discouragement can be overcome by joy, fellowship, and good humor. Hard physical activities or creative hobbies help temper defeats. We at the FCNL are strengthened by the encouragement of Friends around the country. I sometimes wonder if those Friends, especially in isolated areas or difficult situations, know how much we appreciate the work they do.
The study of a history helps to put the tribulation of our time in perspective. It helps us see that traumatic events usually accompany fundamental change and that peace among nations is possible if enough people care and enough people act. A study of history shows us that great changes in human affairs are usually initiated by small minorities. Most of the great reforms that benefit us today were once carried forward by small struggling groups, many of which Quakers played an important part. These include the movements for public education, abolition of slavery and women’s rights.
I find that the times of worship on Sunday, at the beginning of our FCNL staff meeting on Monday morning, and on Wednesday from 9:00 to 9:30, are crucial. They provide an opportunity to listen in order to try to understand our role in carrying forward God’s plan, to be ready to wait or to risk, to be respectful of another’s agenda and to couple patience with the expectation that each of us has a part to play in carrying out God’s will on this beautiful planet.
Published in Quaker Life, July-August 1982