CANCELLED: Anti-Violence to Nonviolence: Toward a Commitment to Culture of Sustainable Peace and Justice

Gandhi defined the practice of nonviolence not as anti-nonviolence but as “standing up against structures of violence.” For him and many leaders of nonviolence, such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez, Dorothy Day, Diana Nash, and the Reverend James Lawson, nonviolence was not anti-nonviolence, which is simply staying away from committing violence. Instead, it was active nonviolent resistance to the covert forces of violence. Wars and mass shootings represent overt forms of violence, and their effects leave us shocked and shaken. However, the systemic structures of violence, including racism, sexism, and economic exploitations, shake the very foundations of our humanity, creating rifts and giving rise to a culture of despair and distrust. The first directive of the Parliament’s Global Ethic focuses on the commitment to nonviolence. A panel of scholars and activists explores the philosophy and ethic of nonviolence required to build a global culture of “respect for all life.”