Ahimsa

"Welche Niedrigkeit beginge ich nicht um die Niedrigkeit auszutilgen?" (What lowness wouldn't I commit to exterminate lowness?) was a question Ulrike Meinhof dealt with in one of her articles in the Magazin 'Konkret' in the sixties. I shared her analyses of society, but concerning the means to be used I was more in the line of Rudy Dutschke: 'Der lange March durch die Instituzionzen" (The long march through the institutions, which obviously can be rather frustrating and requires stamina) and peaceful protests. Ultimately in order to change society, the Baader-Meinhof group killed. They used the means of their perceived enemies. Being a child of the civil rights movement, the Anti-Vietnam war protest, I embraced non-violence and knew that the goal, however lofty, could never excuse violent means in words or deeds. Choice of words matters. It decides the frame of how you look at what is said, it veils your unspoken moral values. War and battle metaphors, allow certain actions and deeds that are despicable. Warlike scenarios like War on Terror, drugs, illegal migration... are the accepted, unperceived, sly way the powers that be use to introduce aggression into our society. A dissenting voice is silenced. A drug addict becomes a criminal. An illegal migrant is repatriated by force and seldom public opinion questions these actions and their results. Being 'chosen' makes the other unchosen and of lesser value, being legal makes the other illegal and unprotected. We need to remind ourselves that we are all related, that we need to be mindful and compassionate, in order to walk the difficult path of non-violence, of Ahimsa. Remember: Make Love, Not War.