The lessons about peace movements of the past came from Gandhi and Martin Luther King (Cortright 2). The birth of the Civil Rights Movement in America was headed its leader of the Martin Luther King, a well-known activist and humanitarian. King used his written works that became part of his peaceful protest against any lawless violence that was evident the society. His famous work includes the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” which was used to ignite the black Americans to fight against the corrupt practices of religious leaders. King was a Baptist minister and he used his gift of influence using the power of words to free the blacks from oppression and demand for their human rights. King believed that it was not proper to resort to violent means to stage a protest. In fact, he advocated non-violent strategy to unite the people through non-violent resistance for the purpose of breaking the racial barriers. King was very instrumental in uniting the people and worked for the reconciliation of the white and black Americans. This is one of the positive and important lessons that we should learn from the past.
The non-violent protest has been successful in various parts of the world such as the velvet revolutions of Central and Eastern Europe in 1989. The people power movement was also successful in the Philippines in 1986 Edsa Revolution when the Filipinos brought down the dictatorship of its then President Ferdinand Marcos (Cortright 4) to bring back their freedom and install a new lady President Corazon C. Aquino. It was through the people power movement that democracy and freedom was redeemed by the Filipinos from the hands of a dictator under Marcos regime. Another event showing non-violent movement was led by the students that toppled the Milosevic regime in Serbia in 2000 (Cortright 4). The nonviolent action approach was also used to achieve democracy during the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004. However, there were some cases where nonviolent protest failed such as in the case of Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989. Another failed attempt of nonviolent approach likewise failed during the intransigence of Burmese generals against the democracy movement of Aung San Suu Kyi (Cortright 4). During these failed attempts on nonviolent protests, there were also instances when human rights were violated (Barash 2). These are some of the negative lessons about peace movements in the past that should not be repeated in the future. This was the same approach that was used to quell terrorism during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in the US. The indiscriminate killing of 3,000 people, nonviolence is the appropriate response to these acts of extreme violence (Cortright 5).
The UN has recommended the global strategy of fighting terrorism addresses the root cause and strengthens the rule of law and fundamental human rights by promoting democracy, reducing poverty and unemployment, and address political grievances (Cortright 6).
One of the principles or themes that should serve as a guide to peace-building efforts is to address the most pressing problems in the world such as violence that human beings commit and the threats committed against other people. These issues are interrelated to problems involving world hunger, poverty, disease, over population, inequity and environmental degradation (Barash 3). War is not the answer to resolve heightened tensions. Taking up nuclear arms race will is not the solution to pacify misunderstandings. Therefore, the long struggle against cultures of militarism and all-out war approach should be avoided. It is important to consider the Catholic Worker movement by promoting the issues of social and economic justice since they are effective guidelines towards peace. The Gandhian nonviolence is often considered as the nonviolent method to fight for justice and avoid military service (Cortright 9). He worked towards the abolishing all forms of political oppression which he accomplished through nonviolent approach.
This is contrary to the present approach of US President Barack Obama who believed that it was necessary to resort to military tactics by appearing tough to earn the people’s votes. Barack is an example of a leader who believes that military means is the way to end conflicts. This was his pronouncement when he declared that he will withdraw US troops in Iraq (Cortright 9). It only goes to show that he prefers to use that there is show of force in the vicinity and show that he is not afraid to use violence of end all conflicts.
The lessons learned that both Gandhi and King should serve as the guide to promote peace since they fought for the same causes. The best way towards peace building efforts is to combat war directed against all forms of racism using non-violent means to resolve conflicts. The most power leaders used religious optimism as their guide towards building a peaceful nation by working together to unite the people and fight against all forms of oppression and violence.
I consider this course as one of the most important subjects that demands greater attention because of the lessons from the past that can help in shaping the future. I came to realize that peace activists are instrumental in solving the problems in society. The readings from this course can be applied to the current events because history of past peace movements may be also used in the future by resorting to nonviolent strategies to ensure social and political change.
Thus, the exploration of this course should not be made purely to earn good grades as part of academic exercise. This course will help us understand the decisions of other nations that may be vital during actual confrontations with these problems. By understanding and reflecting on the actions of the peace activists of today can provide as stable foundation to promote nonviolent actions. In effect, this course has made me reflect on the visions and techniques together with the principles, ideologies, and approaches to work for peace and social justice. By having a deeper understanding of the true meaning of peaceful concerted activities can enrich the people’s initiatives by continuously exerting efforts to promote a non-violent approach towards freedom and democracy. I learned that world leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther King can sources of inspiration to develop a different perspective of peace activism.
In this course, I was inspired to understand the role of peace activists by using nonviolent methods since they became part of history. I also realized the importance of effective and successful peace movements which are instrumental in sustaining the commitment towards social justice. Finally, I believe that abolishing political oppression is possible through nonviolent approach.
Works Cited:
Barash, David. P. Approaches to Peace, 3rd ed. Oxford University Press, 2014. Print.
Cortright, David. Gandhi and Beyond: Non-Violence for a New Political Age, 2nd ed, Paradigm Publishers, 2009. Print.
