“Just as one man must learn
the art of killing in the training
for violence, so one must learn the
art of dying in the training of
non-violence. (Mahatma Gandhi)
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
I believe in this statement of Jesus in the Gospel of John. However what Jesus does not say here. but practices in his life, is that: “Just as one man must learn the art of killing in the training for violence, so one must learn the art of dying in the training of non-violence. (Mahatma Gandhi)
If a soldier in training at Marquette University must learn the art of killing in the training for war and violence why do we not need to learn the art of dying in the training for non-violence action? The art of dying means learning how to take insults, stigma, ignoring and even injury in our struggle for the truth.
Stigma means taking something partially true but not defining who you are and dealing with it. The celebrity doctor, Dr. Drew, for country star Mindy McCready, blamed the stigma the media and society put on her brain or mental illnesses for her suicide. He had finally talked her into entering a hospital for treatment after she suffered a severe setback in her recovery. She hesitated because of the stigma placed on these brain illnesses by society but he finally convinced her she could enter the hospital quietly. She did it and soon the media was over it and after, only 18 hours, she left the hospital. Soon afterwards she was found dead. Stigma kills.
How many of the training programs in nonviolent change teach the “art of dying”. Victims of war, mental illnesses, Killer Drone attacks and street violence are dying each day. We do not need to learn the ‘art of killing’ but the ‘art of dying’ to save lives.
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