I don't have to quote the Beatitudes to make it clear where I and my faith stand on this whole being at war thing. Well before September 11 I had become more involved in the peacemaking process, mostly through my fabulous socially active church. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has a strong peacemaking program and a conference every year at which they give the attendees the tools they need to go out and make peace.

The desire for peace, like my faith, is based on the simple assumption that each person on this planet deserves my love. I don't have to give this too much thought before the really hard cases start to come up for me. Dictators? Child molestors? The cruel, the rude, members of other political parties?

Nor do I hold myself up as the shining example of calm. I've got a pedigreed Dutch temper, and it flares easily. If someone backs into me or steps in front of me at a museum, they're likely to get an imperious throat-clearing, if not the Look of Death. Quick to anger, quick to judge, and always self-righteous; that's me!

I have been practicing the art of listening, however. Attendees to the last Presbyterian peacemaking conference from my church brought back a technique rooted in Asian modes of conversation that I really like. In it, one person speaks, then calls on someone else to take their turn. That person may speak or pass or ask to be called on again later, and then they call on the next person. On it goes until everyone around the table has had a chance to share without anyone else jumping in on them. This also encourages the people listening to devote their entire mental space to hearing what other people are saying instead of just looking for an opportunity to leap into the discussion. We have tried this a few times at my church, and it's been inspiring to see so many different kinds of opinions heard so respectfully. I've found that what happens is that people start to move toward a common compromise without a lot of the hurt and bitter feelings that often accompany a heated argument. I haven't just seen this in other people, it's something that has happened within my own heart as well.

Every person is an iceberg. In our day-to-day interactions with each other we see what's above the surface and quickly make judgments based on a person's actions. We rarely think to look below to the beliefs and history and culture that lie well under the water line. And it's that huge bulky part that's underwater that scrapes up against other people.

Peacemaking is a commitment, and it's especially hard when wrong done against us seems so malicious and undeserved. It takes much more courage to resist evil with love than it does to simply retaliate in anger. I've said it before, I'll keep saying it, and I'll keep believing I can actually make a difference.

Dan's take
Independent Media Centers for Peace
The Nonviolence Web
Peace.Protest.Net
International Action Center
The Coexistence Initiative