Attack Forces of Evil, Not Persons Doing Evil

By Nicolas Katkevich

Attack forces of evil not persons doing evil, is in many ways, the one principle of Kingian Nonviolence that the progressive movement immediately needs to adopt in order to become more effective in their pursuits and to begin tapping in to the power of Nonviolence.

During the recent Bush presidency I attended several anti-war/pro-peace demonstrations. At all of these demonstrations were signs, caricatures and chants denouncing George W. Bush as an ignorant fool. The energy and spirit was full of hate directed towards the man. While it is quite understandable as to why there would be anger and outrage direct at Mr. Bush; this type of hate and focused attack on an individual accomplishes nothing. The United States militarism, economic disparity and other social ills are not the fault of one person. Nor will these issues be resolved simply by electing the correct person into power. Rather, if we want to create true change, we must address the root conditions and causes of our country’s problems. We must create systemic, lasting change. This is where our energy must be focused.

Look at our situation today. George Bush is gone, and a new Democratic President is in office, and yet we still are fighting wars in the Middle East. It is clear that war and militarism were not solely energies stemming from Bush; rather the philosophy and use of violence is something that plagues us all. We must work together to overcome violence at the local and international level, through awakening peace within ourselves and by showing others the faults of violence.

Moreover, we must carry on movements with the realization that even our greatest enemy my soon be our greatest ally. Through our self-suffering we must look to arouse the conscious and hearts of not only the public, but our assailants as well. For the goal of Nonviolence is to win over people’s hearts and to create a “win-win” situation rather then a “win-loose” situation that we are accustomed to. We must reach out warmly, yet firmly to our assailants and show them that we do not wish to punish them, yet uplift them. Our love and compassion cannot be limited to only those whom we currently consider our friends and allies. Only through the power of Agape, unconditional love, will we be able to transform ourselves, our communities and our world.