We're not going to end violence by telling people that it's morally wrong, says Jamila Raqib, executive director of the Albert Einstein Institution. Instead, we must find alternative ways to conduct conflict that are equally powerful and effective. Raqib promotes nonviolent resistance to people living under tyranny — and there's a lot more to it than street protests. She shares encouraging examples of creative strategies that have led to change around the world and a message of hope for a future without armed conflict. "The greatest hope for humanity lies not in condemning violence but in making violence obsolete," Raqib says.
This Ted Talk was a powerful, realistic message for me. Applicable to many different struggles. For me I apply it to our political system. I don't have a TV and I don't read mainstream media, but I still feel the destructive force of our political system here in America. I value freedom and liberty more than anything else on the planet. That is why I joined the military as a young kid out of high school and was willing to sacrifice my life for it. I found no such liberty and freedom, but ironically I found the opposite with labels like "property of the US government" and extreme coercion to follow the orders of politicians that often resulted in me being a part of taking away freedom and liberty of others.
After that important life lesson it seemed obvious that if I want positive change for our country and protect my warrior brother's and sisters in the military then we should use our democratic political system to realize freedom and liberty. Well after 20 years of campaign supporting, educating, nonviolently fighting for the politicians who embodied liberty and freedom -- well I don't need to even say how bad it is or how helpless our system is.
Well to nonviolently fight for my country's liberty and freedom I chose to resist repression. I vote by not voting. I participate by not participating. I fight by not fighting.
Those who seek to destroy us use fear and conflict as their weapon. Fight fear with faith in humanity and take personal responsibility to learn why others feel violence is their only option. Rather than listening to the unrelenting narrative of what divides us (race, religion, geography, sex) focus on what makes us united (Love, happiness, choice, freedom).
The weakness of our oppressors is they need an ever growing amount of resources to survive. The most valuable resource on the planet is you. Just by choosing to not chose (Do not vote) is more powerful than any weapon they use. Chose not to give away your freedom and liberty for the lie of security. Don't trade your valuable time and local resources for their worthless currency. They can create an infinite amount of digital dollars and falsely give value and power to it. Search for the things in your life that have value and invest in those and give those power.
