Pacifist Posse

Bob, an individual I know on the Internet often has this tag on this e-mail messages:

“war is a failure of imagination”
Alan Moore

I like the idea. But I thought the source might have been older than Mr. Moore, who’s noted for his comics over several recent decades (though he might be something approximating a polymath). There’s a site attributing it to H. G. Wells and another that says that’s the correct answer to a question about which quote H. G. Wells did not coin. Sheesh. My search is failing.

I was looking at philosophy sites on another topic (epistomology, if you must know) and came upon an entry on pacifism. I gathered notes about it from several similar sources and they are here.

—Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

Pacifism is a commitment to peace and opposition to war. Our ordinary language allows a diverse set of beliefs and commitments to be held together under the general rubric of pacifism. This article will explain the family resemblance among the variety of pacifisms. It will locate pacifism within deontological and consequentialist approaches to ethics. And it will consider and reply to objections to pacifism.

—Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy:

Pacifism is the theory that peaceful rather than violent or belligerent relations should govern human intercourse and that arbitration, surrender, or migration should be used to resolve disputes. Pacifism is as much an element of Western thinking as is the notion of Just War Theory, the argument that the state may legitimately or morally bear arms. While most people accept the necessity of war, conscientious objectors (or martyrs in much of European history) have often been accorded a special recognition for their moral bravery in refusing to take up arms.

—Garth Kemerling of Philosophy Pages:

Opposition to war, killing, and violence; support for peace {Lat. pax}. Pacifism may be defended deontologically as respect for the value of human life, on the consequentialist grounds that the consequences of violence are clearly harmful, or personally as a significant component of good character.

—Columbia Encyclopedia (6th edition):

[Pacifism is] advocacy of opposition to war through individual or collective action against militarism. Although complete, enduring peace is the goal of all pacifism, the methods of achieving it differ. Some groups oppose international war but advocate revolution for suppressed nationalities; others are willing to support defensive but not offensive war; others oppose all war, but believe in maintaining a police force; still others believe in no coercive or disciplinary force at all.

— Jeff Landauer and Joseph Rowlands at Importance of Philosophy (interestingly, these guys place pacifism among “misbegotten notions”):

Pacifism is the moral principle that the use of force is wrong for any reason. This applies to both the initiation of force, as well as defensive or retaliatory force. If your life is being threatened, pacifism holds that you should not defend yourself. If someone has stolen from you, pacifism holds that you should not retrieve your property. If someone has murdered other people, pacifism holds that nothing should be done about it. Pacifism is the moral principle that attempts to permanently disarm its practitioners, leaving them helpless and at the mercy of any thug.

—Wikipedia:

Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes or gaining advantage. Pacifism covers a spectrum of views ranging from the belief that international disputes can and should be peacefully resolved; to calls for the abolition of the institutions of the military and war; to opposition to any organization of society through governmental force (anarchist or libertarian pacifism); to rejection of the use of physical violence to obtain political, economic or social goals; to opposition to violence under any circumstance, including defense of self and others.

Is orange the color of non-violence? Is purple the color of non-violence?

David Swanson wrote that people planning to march 23 July 2007 from Arlington National Cemetery (gather there at 10 a.m.) to Capitol Hill (Cindy Sheehan will lead a march) will wear orange during the event.

According to Episcoveg, the Episcopal Network for Animal Welfare says that it is. The Orange Overalls folks say their clothing is related for their cause. Some folks (here and here) say that the “orange revolution in the Ukraine supports the use of oranged as the color for non-violence.

Students Against Violence Everywhere (now added to the blogroll!) refers to purple as the color of non-violence; this organization uses orange in its color because of a student named Orange, who was shot while trying to break up a fight. The Stars of Tomorrow Youth Foundation also identifies purple as the color of non-violence.

I need more research to determine an answer to the lead question.

Every summer at Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson, there is a naturalization ceremony. People who want to become citizens of the US attend and take an oath, some noted dignitary speaks, journalists cover the story, etc. Last summer, an intrepid group of CCPJ folx stood by the road leading to Monticello and promoted peace. One of these folks rides with PP. Who can identify that possifist? You can see more photos by clicking on the image. Write your answers in the comments to this post.

I started on a statement of principles for the PP. It is in the pages section (top right of our current layout). This should be considered a work in progress. It’s just a draft. It can be abandoned, revised, or accepted (there are probably other actions to which it can subjected, too).

I was hoping to establish a standard that was accepting of all people who have more stringent definitions about what “non-violence” means, provided that they agreed to our fundamentals. I was also hoping to distinguish our view from the views of those who might apoligize for violence under certain (unaccpetable to us) conditions.

Have at it. Suggest changes in the comments (here or there) until I can figure out how to make it editable for all of us.