On the bus from Incheon Airport to Seoul where we were going to participate in a six-nation seminar on nonviolence and the possibilities for reunification we found ourselves across the aisle from a young fellow who was eager to show us pictures of his recent trip to the North where, we would soon learn, groups… read more
Posts by Prof. Michael Nagler
Is President Obama to Blame?
Michael N. Nagler Rabbi Michael Lerner’s recent call to the progressive community to run a candidate who would put pressure on President Obama to move back to the agenda he laid out, or rather implied, in his inspiring campaign of November, 2008 puts attention back on the natural, but misleading question of… read more
Overview: Toward a Nonviolent Future
Toward a Nonviolent Future Metta will dedicate 2011 to putting before spiritual activists and all interested parties the following four-fold plan for a concerted major campaign that we see as the best approach to a nonviolent future. Each of these items will of course need elaboration, and we have been considering convening a strategic council… read more
How to Replace the War System
About the murderous rampage of US soldiers from the 5th Stryker Combat Brigade, who killed and dismembered Afghan civilians evidently “for sport,” the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reported on September 20, “Army officials have not disclosed a motive” for the outrage. Let me try. Violence is puzzling when we can’t see the forest for the… read more
“Nagler’s Law”
This is a semi-facetious term made up by (of course) Michael Nagler to describe the very real phenomenon that a small amount of violence can subvert the nonviolent character of a demonstration or, for that matter, a person’s consciousness. As Nagler states his ‘law:’ NV + V = V. More seriously, this effect is a… read more
Remembering Our Humanity
“Remember our humanity, and forget all the rest.” Albert Einstein The decade has not begun with a paean to human wisdom. Two recent acts of folly in particular share a deep and pernicious connection that bears some pondering, and I am not even referring to the capture of Ted Kennedy’s seat in a Massachusetts. I… read more
After Copenhagen: Michael’s latest post
Our friends at yes! Magazine have again posted Michael Nagler’s latest blog in which he advances the idea that climate disruption should perhaps be the issue of the coming decade. Here‘s the link. We highly recommend a free subscription to the weekly news service of yes! .… read more
The Ironies of Peace
In 1982 Mother Teresa of Calcutta stunned the world by announcing that she was going into a raging conflict in Beirut to rescue disabled children from an abandoned orphanage. It was during the bombardment that Prime Minister Menachem Begin of Israel called “Operation Peace [that word again] for Galilee.” It was a stunning gesture, perfectly… read more
Afghanistan: What Would a Real Policy Look Like?
At a Washington meeting some years back Rep. Jim Moran of VA said to a group of us who had come to discuss Mideast policy, “All foreign policy is domestic politics.” The recently announced ‘surge’ of 30,000 additional troops for Afghanistan was designed to placate political pressures on the President, which, even if it were… read more
BIG NEWS!
The Search for a Nonviolent Future has been published in Arabic! Soon to be distributed in Syria, Morocco, Jordan, and Lebanon. We are also working on connections in — yes — Iraq, through our friends in La’Onf, and Palestine.… read more
