recently, i've been reading about the civil rights movement in nashville via david halberstam's book, the children. this particular passage feels quite timely to me; it is talking about minister/activist jim lawson's mentor, a.j. muste, whose influence on lawson was key in the civil rights movement of non-violence:
to lawson it was as if muste, more than the people empowered in washington, had a real sense of how strong and powerful america had become in the years right after WWII. muste spoke of a prosperous, affluent, yet curiously anxious nation, one that had emerged untouched by enemy bombs after a world war which had obliterated so much else in the developed world, but which was terribly uneasy and uncomfortable with all of its newfound wealth and power. muste, in lawson's eyes, virtually alone was willing to ask the questions which that new american condition mandated: who, in this extraordinary moment when the nation's wealth and power are so overwhelming, helps the victor have any humility? what political form does that humility take? ...the answer, muste believed had to come from the teachings of jesus christ, based on christian love--the ability to love someone who was supposed to be an enemy, at home, in the workplace, or, if necessary, in foreign policy. love was the most basic law of life, muste seemed to be saying: you will love the lord, you will work actively for him, and thereby, because his belief is love and his life is love, you will end up seeking a concept of greater social justice and a more just (and peaceful) country and planet.
Posted by bananie at March 18, 2003 12:00 AM | TrackBack