It may be that our historical moment is not unique, but it can feel like it is. There are enough tensions, outright violence, and injustices that must end to make one throw up one’s hands and shout “stop it!”
Getting other people to stop what they’re doing, especially when it’s violent, degrading, or unjust, makes sense. In trying to accomplish this, we may get close to nonviolence, but we’re not there yet.
If we make people change against their will, we’re only delaying things, not fundamentally changing them. There may be deep historical wounds left unresolved by other means, or elements of a community’s life that get suppressed, leading to nursed grudges and resentments that will eventually boil over again. Some versions of “stop it!”, of course, can be outright violent or oppressive, as when one army opposes another or a violent uprising attempts to end some injustices (usually giving rise to others).
Marshall Rosenberg, who developed Nonviolent Communication, acknowledges that we frequently want to change other people’s behavior. But he goes on to ask what we want their motivation to be when they change their behavior. If there isn’t a change of heart, a new motivation, there’s no real change. This is why the heart, the interior self, features so much in the theory and practice of nonviolence. How do I move from having a heart of hatred to a heart of love and compassion?
I agree with Michael Nagler of the Metta Center for Nonviolence who recently called for enlarging the possibilities that lie beyond ceasefires. As important as ceasefires may be in the short term for the safety of people who are being harmed, Nagler says that we always need to make sure to take the next step toward ceasing hatred. Metta, the name of Nagler’s organization, is the Pali word for loving-kindness, in many ways a better word for capturing the heart of nonviolence than words (like “nonviolence”!) that derive meaning from what they oppose. It’s not just a larger word, but a richer concept, like a generous person is deeper than a person who simply doesn’t steal from others.
At ACN, we’re starting to plan our 2026 annual conference on the theme “The Spirit of Peace”, focusing on spiritual and religious traditions and what they teach about peace. Many of these teachings and practices are thousands of years old. I’m hopeful that as we learn more in this area together, we’ll be enriched and inspired to move past cycles of violence and other never-ending tensions toward more compassionate and generous ways of being.
Peace,
Craig Hovey, Executive Director