Paris Project

A couple of months ago, I wrote about a project we at the Fresno Center for Nonviolence
< http://www.centerfornonviolence.org/ >
were organizing--the Pairs Project. The intent was to match two people with very different backgrounds and life situations, and let them become acquainted. I am glad to report we have now begun, with six pairs of curious, concerned individuals ready to brave the unknown.

Two recent events have led me to reiterate the importance of work like the Pairs Project, aimed at surpassing lack of knowledge and disaffection. One was a debate about gay marriage held on the campus of CSUF. The defender of "traditional marriage" was a professional representative of a national lobby group; the champion of gay marriage was Rev. Larry Patten of Fresno's Wesley United Methodist Church. After all the Bible quotations and citations of scientific studies and arguments about separating Church and State, it came down to this (in my paraphrase of Rev. Patten's sentiments): you either believe in a living Universe where love and intelligence renew and reinvent creation continually; or you believe in a world where goodness is defined as obedience to authority and courage in upholding pre-determined laws. You believe that humans are agents of creation, or that we are soldiers in a war to maintain order. You believe that love trumps fear, or vice versa.

The second event I cite was the Presidential election. Kevin Phillips was, before the current administration, an important strategist and publicist for the national Republican Party. On a recent edition of NOW (ch. 18, Fridays at 9 p.m.), he said with the sorrow that in his analysis the election was won by the Bush administration's ability to forge a coalition of fear based on 9/11 and a perceived threat to Christian values. This seems true to me, and I interpret his words to say that political power has been obtained by speaking to the mistrust--even hatred--of an enemy rather than by calling on us to recognize a shared humanity and a need to solve serious life-threatening problems together.

I grew up often feeling weak and fearful. In many circumstances I am still beset by fear: Crocodiles and snakes; imminent pain or imminent failure; people belligerent under the influence of alcohol or drugs; people who are implacably sure they know who their enemies are: all induce intense trepidation. And fear exists for good reason, for mobilizing flight or self-defense. But to me it is clear that the value of fear is momentary. It cannot beneficially serve as the basis of a philosophy, a policy or a political campaign. Jesus did not say "...and of these, the first is fear." The perennial wisdom of the ages does not say "Do unto others before they do unto you." Every spiritual tradition calls on us to do better than that. Or if pragmatism is your game, Gandhi put it this way: if our law is "an eye for an eye", we will all end up blind. So speak the great ones; but the choice is ours.

[For more information about the Pairs Project, or the work of the Fresno Center for Nonviolence, call 559 237-3223.]

Submitted by Richard Stone, Administrative Director of the Fresno Center for Nonviolence and a fellow of the Central California Institute.