I claimed I was a pacifist for so long, but I don’t know if the word suits me anymore. I mean, I still fight for peace and will always fight for it, no matter how many people tell me that a war is ‘just.’ My thing is, what would I do and what would I expect others to do if they were being attacked or their house was being broken into? I lived under the banner of ‘personal pacifist’ for a while, but I, along with everyone else, can’t just be a personal anything; we are examples to others around us. I am a white, straight, cis, abled , male… What do I know about constant threats of violence? Pacifism is one of the worthiest goals, but I don’t even know what I would do if I was thrown into a place with constant violence… How can I tell someone who doesn’t feel like they have a choice that what they are doing is wrong? Maybe I am succumbing to the same arguments that I defended pacifism against… I don’t know… But what I do know is that my desire for peace does not have to stop there. Maybe I will find some word to describe what I am… MaybeI don’t need a word and I will just fight against violence whenever I see it…
December 10th is International Human Rights Day! It is a day to celebrate the betterment of humanity, with the recognition of an international effort by all nations to help instill human rights in all areas of the world! While, there is still so much work to be done, every December 10th is a chance to look back at all of the progress that we, as supporters and humans, have gained over this past year, and to look forward to the future of humanity!
“Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
“It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it” -Eleanor Roosevelt
“Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one” -John Lennon
Undergrad in Coastal Environmental Science, Atheist, Humanist, environmentalist, feminist, science enthusiast, altruist, nonviolent, somewhere between liberal and radical
