As I have watched political violence tear across the world and recently our state, I have reflected on the choices each of us have to respond. There are many voices around me shouting for more violence in retaliation, while others are celebrating the violence as some sort of victory. Confusion sets in as I grapple to find ways of holding us all together despite everyone seemingly determined to push each other away.
The only clear solution that I see is rejecting both of those responses and choosing to make peace. I know that for many, peace seems like a cop-out or no response at all, but I hope to persuade those by making my case for peace.
Peace is not passivity. Peace requires action; it is not a reaction. It demands us to sacrifice our pride, but never our values. The core desire we share is to help others experience the same happiness we have felt by virtue of our beliefs. If we truly want others to find happiness by adopting our way of living, then we must neutralize the poison of political violence by partaking in the antidote of peaceful resolutions.
Hannah Richards
Centerville