The following article was developed by Green Comma as a discussion resource for use in grades 9-12 classrooms as well as in freshmen college classrooms. The writer is Green Comma’s managing director, Amit Shah.
All opinions are the writer's own
There are three individuals who changed the course of history that affects us all today through the practice and implementation of nonviolence. They are Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Cesar Chavez.
MLK, unlike Gandhi and Chavez, who both adhered to ahimsa, the practice of nonviolence toward all living things, envisioned nonviolence as six principles (References: Stride Toward Freedom) .
“First, one can resist evil without resorting to violence. Second, nonviolence seeks to win the ‘‘friendship and understanding’’ of the opponent, not to humiliate him (King, Stride, 84). Third, evil itself, not the people committing evil acts, should be opposed. Fourth, those committed to nonviolence must be willing to suffer without retaliation as suffering itself can be redemptive. Fifth, nonviolent resistance avoids ‘‘external physical violence’’ and ‘‘internal violence of spirit’’ as well: ‘‘The nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he also refuses to hate him’’ (King, Stride, 85). The resister should be motivated by love in the sense of the Greek word agape, which means ‘‘understanding,’’ or ‘‘redeeming good will for all men’’ (King, Stride, 86). The sixth principle is that the nonviolent resister must have a ‘‘deep faith in the future,’’ stemming from the conviction that ‘‘the universe is on the side of justice’’ (King, Stride, 88).
In the summer of 1957, during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, “ the name of Mahatma Gandhi was well known. People who had never heard of the little brown saint of India were now saying his name with an air of familiarity. Nonviolent resistance had emerged as the technique of the movement, while love stood as the regulating idea. In other words, Christ furnished the motivation while Gandhi furnished the method.”
(Acknowledgment for the quote from Claude Markovits, The Un-Gandhian Gandhi. Markovits also provides a very astute observation of Gandhian nonviolent resistance in the American context of the 1950s and 1960s.)
“The attempt to limit Gandhi to the role of simple provider of a method can be explained by the specific social and ideological context in which King had to operate. He sought to mobilize a population for whom the only meaningful references were biblical ones, and he also wanted to remain within an American framework so as to make the struggle clear to the white population.” (Claude Markovits, The Un-Gandhian Gandhi, pp.66).
And MLK made the struggle clear. Never has it been so important since those days for all of us today who treasure democracy and civil rights to hear these words:
“Now, I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’” (MLK, August 28, 1963)
All opinions are the writer's own
There are three individuals who changed the course of history that affects us all today through the practice and implementation of nonviolence. They are Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr, and Cesar Chavez.
MLK, unlike Gandhi and Chavez, who both adhered to ahimsa, the practice of nonviolence toward all living things, envisioned nonviolence as six principles (References: Stride Toward Freedom) .
“First, one can resist evil without resorting to violence. Second, nonviolence seeks to win the ‘‘friendship and understanding’’ of the opponent, not to humiliate him (King, Stride, 84). Third, evil itself, not the people committing evil acts, should be opposed. Fourth, those committed to nonviolence must be willing to suffer without retaliation as suffering itself can be redemptive. Fifth, nonviolent resistance avoids ‘‘external physical violence’’ and ‘‘internal violence of spirit’’ as well: ‘‘The nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he also refuses to hate him’’ (King, Stride, 85). The resister should be motivated by love in the sense of the Greek word agape, which means ‘‘understanding,’’ or ‘‘redeeming good will for all men’’ (King, Stride, 86). The sixth principle is that the nonviolent resister must have a ‘‘deep faith in the future,’’ stemming from the conviction that ‘‘the universe is on the side of justice’’ (King, Stride, 88).
In the summer of 1957, during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, “ the name of Mahatma Gandhi was well known. People who had never heard of the little brown saint of India were now saying his name with an air of familiarity. Nonviolent resistance had emerged as the technique of the movement, while love stood as the regulating idea. In other words, Christ furnished the motivation while Gandhi furnished the method.”
(Acknowledgment for the quote from Claude Markovits, The Un-Gandhian Gandhi. Markovits also provides a very astute observation of Gandhian nonviolent resistance in the American context of the 1950s and 1960s.)
“The attempt to limit Gandhi to the role of simple provider of a method can be explained by the specific social and ideological context in which King had to operate. He sought to mobilize a population for whom the only meaningful references were biblical ones, and he also wanted to remain within an American framework so as to make the struggle clear to the white population.” (Claude Markovits, The Un-Gandhian Gandhi, pp.66).
And MLK made the struggle clear. Never has it been so important since those days for all of us today who treasure democracy and civil rights to hear these words:
“Now, I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: - 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’” (MLK, August 28, 1963)
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