Dissident Veteran For Peace: When Dialogue is NOT our Hope

Dissident Veteran For Peace

"I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America." —Alexis de Tocquevile. Democracy in America, Book I, Chapter XV.

With a nod to the Most Rev. Dom Helder Camara: When I support Palestinians some call me an 'anti-Semite', when I try to explain why I stand in solidarity with Palestinians they call me a Nazi.

"WAR is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives." —Major General Smedley Butler, USMC (ret.)

"... no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end." —character of O'Brien in 1984, part 3, ch. 3 by George Orwell.

"Every prophet has realized that nobody loves you for being the enemy of their illusions. Every prophet has realized that most of us want peace at any price as long as the peace is ours and somebody else pays the price. That is why the prophet Jeremiah said, ' "Peace, peace," they say, when there is no peace,' ..." —The Rev. William Sloane Coffin. "Not to Bring Peace, But a Sword."

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

When Dialogue is NOT our Hope

Below is a summary by Mariya Yevsyukova of "When Dialogue is NOT our Hope" by Joseph Phelps in the Mennonite Conciliation Service's Conciliation Quarterly (Spring 1996. p. 8).

Dialogue is not appropriate when:

1) Either side refuses to talk.

Continuation of the dialogue can only further damage the situation. However, there might be people on the other side who do not hold extreme views. Then there is an option of talking to them in the hope that they will convey your views to those who stand on extreme positions.

2) When the conversation is co-opted by persons in power.

When there is a dialogue between oppressor and oppressed, it might be just an attempt to create an illusion of caring about the needs of the powerless by those in power, without practical attempt to reverse the injustice.

3) When dialogue is being substituted for the work of counseling.

4) When the issue of justice is involved.

There cannot be dialogue with forces promoting injustice. Sometimes there is a need for nonviolent action. A good example is the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Resistance gave more power to the oppressed. Creating a power balance allows for honest and constructive dialogue. Thus, conflict can be an indication for the necessity of change.