May 2004

Views expressed are those of the authors, not necessarily of the AFSC.

From the Editor's Desk

"Confusing yourself is a way to stay honest."
- Conceptual Artist Jenny Holzer, Truism Series

I think confusion is underrated. There is much in the world that confuses me. How could we nonviolently prevent and stop genocide? How do we balance working for reforms which might ameliorate suffering with a commitment to creating more fundamental changes? How on earth are we supposed to raise kind children in an often cruel world?

Cognitive dissonance is the heart of learning. According to the Winter/Spring 2004 newsletter of the Harvard Laboratory for Developmental Studies (www.wjh.harvard.edu/~lds) babies look longer and more intently at phenomena that surprise them, thus enabling them to develop ever more complex mental models of the way the world works. I think we might learn something from this process. Vygotsky, a Russian pedagogue of the 1930s, posited that education works best when we present challenges to students which confuse them, are beyond their abilities to accomplish on their own, but which they can figure out if they work cooperatively in dialogue with other students. I hope that Peacework is a Vygotskian learning experience for all of us - posing questions which confuse us, fostering dialogue between editors, writers, photographers, graphic artists, and readers which complicates our thinking.

In this issue, I found much to confuse me. For example, the March for Women's Lives was a magnificent demonstration of historic and titanic size. The deadly violence perpetrated by patriarchal societies attempting to force women to continue unwanted pregnancies results in the deaths of 70,000 women every year worldwide. Why were the lives of these women more a footnote than a centerpiece of the event? Despite this, many of the speeches were powerful articulations of the principle that reproductive rights of many kinds: access to non-coercive health care (including safe abortions), sex education, sexual choice, and child care, for starters, are fundamental to any nonviolent society.

One nightmarish violation of reproductive rights is the worldwide trafficking of women into conditions of slavery in clubs and brothels. Despite promises by the US military in Korea to stop these crimes in the clubs catering to US military personnel, Vivion Vinson's investigation reveals that the trafficking continues. What will it take to stop these human rights violations?

The Najaf Emergency Peace Team asks an implicit question of all of us: do advocates of nonviolence need to be taking the same risks as military personnel in order to wage peace? The massacres in Sudan pose another intractable question: what can we do when we witness the beginnings of genocide unfold, again, before our disbelieving eyes?

How to cover the events in Haiti was the source of much confusion for us this month. Situations of intense conflict often result in conflicting stories about events. As editors far from the scene, how do we sort out these conflicting claims and interpretations? Kevin Murray and Amy Goodman strive mightily to seek out the information we need to act in solidarity with the people of Haiti. We hope in future issues to continue to share additional perspectives on Haiti.

Many of us spent years organizing against US military intervention in El Salvador during the repression of the 1980s civil war years. After a country drops out of the mainstream media's headlines, our attention tends to wander. I must admit mine did. Yet, intervention takes many forms, and social struggles continue long after wars formally end.

Another of Jenny Holzer's truisms reads, "Abuse of power comes as no surprise." Yet, even if it should not surprise, the abuses depicted in the stories about US military mistreatment of Afghan prisoners and the condoning of rape by male US Army personnel in Iraq are certainly shocking. The institutionalized perpetuation of cruelty challenges us to take action.

Challenges of a different sort are raised by Amy Beth's and Jim Jer-Don's article questioning whether our goal should be access to the state institution of marriage for all adult couples, or getting the state out of the coupling business. Lisa Graustein asks us to consider how we can keep the peace, inside ourselves as well as at demonstrations, when confronted with overt bigotry. Hattie Nestel describes how her affinity group confronted dilemmas about solidarity and ways to mount legal defenses to continue our witness after civil resistance actions.

The editors of the invaluable magazine, Rethinking Schools, address the question, 50 years after the Brown v. Board decision, and 100 years since W.E.B. Dubois said the problem of racism would be the problem of the 20th century, what should be the agenda for anti-racist advocates now?

A number of readers called or wrote concerning our piece on Cuban repression in the last issue. Thanks for continuing the dialogue. Thanks for helping to sow more confusion.

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