What Is The Pacifist’s Equivalent To The Atomic Bomb?

Fill in the blank: Hatred and violence are to the atomic bomb what love and non-violence is to _____.

There is no answer. Not only can we not point to a comparison, we cannot even contemplate one. Human beings have not only imagined the worst possible hell, they have worked devilishly hard to make it possible. But we have ignored the possibility of heaven.

Imagine for a moment if we worked as hard in the direction of love and non-violence as we have in the direction of hatred and violence. Half as hard. A tenth as hard. Imagine what could be accomplished. Imagine what we would become as a species.

Imagine if a group of determined people employed the courage of Pickett’s charge to loving and non-violent ends. Imagine the equivalence of the dedication and sacrifice of a D-Day applied to making a greener, more peaceful planet.

We have seen little of this. The Civil Rights Movement of the ‘50’s and ‘60’s comes closest, at least from my limited view of history. And God, what an awesome sight that was to behold. Millions of ordinary people with no special greatness of their own joining together to advance an idea whose time had come. Working for justice without hatred or violence.

This capacity lies latent within us all, yearning to burst out, yearning to prove to ourselves and others what the human race is capable of. Yearning to create a better world, to make us better men and women. Yearning to provide an answer to the threat of nuclear annihilation. Yearning to at last make us what we truly want to be.

And somewhere within us we anticipate a call to duty. But none will ever come. No bugle will sound to signal the charge. No general will call for the attack, no officer will lead the soldiers. You will not receive a draft notice nor will there be a recruitment drive attempting to draft young adults and children into the fight.

The only bugle call you will hear will sound within your own heart. The marching orders will not come from central command but from your own conscience. Obedience and the threat of punishment will not push you forward but only a burning faith in your cause.

The fight for peace, if it is to be won, will require epic courage, the likes of which have won famous battles throughout history. For the enemy we face is multitude. All of the nations are against us. Our own country is riddled with the enemy’s agents. The enemy can be found even within our own families and circles of friends. Indeed, the enemy can be found within our own hearts. That is where the true frontline is to be found.

The task is immense, the battlefield spanning the globe. But we as soldiers in this fight need not concern ourselves with the immensity of the struggle. We only need concern ourselves with the battle before us, within us. Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do or die. Each of us need only conquer the enemy within.

And in being true soldiers in the fight for peace, in showing all the courage of those who fought in Stalingrad, or Gettysburg, or at Thermopylae, our courage and strength will encourage others to join the fight.

Like any war, it will be one of attrition. It will be fought in the trenches by heroes whose names are often unknown, their stories never told. But we will each of us know in our hearts the courage and bravery of our comrades, and of their commitment to love and to finding an alternative to war.