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WINTER
2001 
Gloria Horvay
Clerk, Salem Quarterly MeetingDear Friends,
As often happens, it has been difficult to select a topic for this column. My dilemma this time is September 11. Do I have something useful to add, or are we all on overload?
I find myself returning to a favorite theme: We increase peace in the world by showing love to those around us every day. Some people are easy to love, but we must reach out to those difficult people we prefer to avoid.
A poster hangs in my school that says, “If we don’t practice what we teach, we are teaching something else.” As the bombs were dropping on Afghanistan, my principal’s morning “words of wisdom” said we should talk out our conflicts with others and not resort to physical means. Is not waging war to protect the peace a contradiction in terms?
I was cautiously optimistic about our country’s initial response to the events of September 11. There was a wonderful unity among our law makers, our citizens, and many countries around the world. But as our attack on Afghanistan continues, I am concerned about those in the world who view us as a bully pushing our weight around. Does it really matter who started it if people are being killed? I think how much good could be done if the money spent on this military action were used to build up third world nations.
As I search for answers, I find myself praying for the terrorists to have a change of heart. Miracles do happen. Maybe I have been watching “Touched by an Angel” on TV too much. Could angels appear to the terrorists and convince them that mass killing of innocent people does not solve a thing? Or perhaps the terrorists could be visited by ghosts, as Scrooge was in A Christmas Carol, to show them the error of their ways. There is power in prayer.
Recently I have enjoyed reading A Quaker Book of Wisdom, in which Robert Lawrence Smith shares what he has learned in his life as a Quaker. It was interesting that his conscience led him to fight in World War II because he felt Hitler’s atrocities had to be stopped. Yet he fully believes in nonviolence.
I would like to end with quotes from his chapter on nonviolence:
“A leap of faith is required if we are to believe that nonviolence can heal a violent world, that turning the other cheek when struck, instead of striking back, can end a fight. We need faith to believe that by loving our enemy we can eventually transform him into an ally; that even when nonviolence fails to achieve peace, it can succeed in curing hate.”
And finally:
“The more love we add to the world, the more loving and humane a place it will become.”
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Last modified:
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:19 AM
