It's time for pacifism!

War is, at first, the hope that one will be better off; next, the expectation that the other fellow will be worse off; then, the satisfaction that he isn't any better off; and, finally, the surprise at everyone's being worse off. 

Karl Kraus (1874-1936) Austrian writer. He was the most critical, satirical and scathing intellectual in Vienna at the beginning of the 20th century. He condemned the failings of the middle classes and of hallowed artistic and literary media. 

With Barack Obama's election we have a great deal of reason to expect that war will further loose credibility in our world.  That it will be further discredited as a means to achieve whatever legitimate or illegitimate interests a nation, government, group or movement might pursue. I recently visited with a group the library of the small town La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Jura Neuchâtelois, a city above 1000m altitude, supposedly the highest in Europe. It is known as the watch making capital - Geneva only became famous for watches since there is air traffic and since the luxurious segment has gained significance. La Chaux-de-Fonds is not only the cradle of clock-making (it has an interesting museum of watch making) - aside from having one of the best coffee breweries if you ask me - is is the home of Le Corbusier, of Louis Chevrolet, and of the guy who invented the tasty apéritif Suze, and it was also a hub of the anti-war movement of the 19th and the early 20th century. Mahatma Gandhi visited and was in correspondence with the movement. That movement had significant political clout. Albert Gobat from Tramelan (also a watch making town) and Elie Ducommun from Geneva, were co-winners of the Nobel Peace  Prize in 1902. Gobat was a successful lawyer and was a member of the Swiss parliament and eventually the leader of the International Peace Bureau. The pacifist movement was well connected and represented in politics. For bios see the Nobelprize site

It seems that with and after the two world wars, pacifism lost profile and pacifists came to be seen as illusionists whom you could not trust. You could trust generals and bankers. Has the time come for a re-emergence of pacifism as a real, politically correct and credible way forward in the 21st century? We have reasons to hope so - and we better do what we can to make it happen!

9 Things of Life Upside-Down

Nine Virtues: Justice, Tenderness, Truthfulness, Openness, Humor, Consideration, Forbearance, Kindness, Attentiveness

Eight Beauties: Mountains, Elderly People, the Human Body, Singing, Stars in Clear Sky, Trees, Sunset, Birds

Seven Blessings: Children, Water, Warmth, Light, Sleep, Rest, Companions

Six Challenges: Conflicts, Crisis, Relationships, Work, Frugality, Decisions

Five Gifts: Friendship, Colors, Peace, Dreams, Grace

Four Pleasures: Music, Dining, Sex, Encounters

Three Oneness: the Source, the Embodiment, the Power

Two Realities: Yes and No

One Truth: Love is Matchless

Five reasons why Jesus could NOT have been a Mennonite

1. He never held any membership in a congregation
2. He was not keen about committees
3. He didn't try to please everyone in his community
4. His relationship with women is a matter of discussion
5. He incited people to drink wine when they had actually had enough

Five reasons why Jesus could have been an Anabaptist

1. He was baptized as a grown-up
2. He didn't impose his views on anyone and was still killed for them
3. He refused to use violence, even against those who threatened him
4. He was critical of authorities and government
5. He hung out with people who were to be avoided

It's complicated and beautiful

Quite some time ago I decided I wanted to have a blog. The complications began right away and they are telling of my story: should I do it in English, which is the language of my professional world and that of many good friends of mine? Should I do it in French, my daily language at home and with my children? Or do I want to do it in German, the language of my parents, siblings, community and many more friends? I live with several worlds, perhaps in between, sometimes at the margins, often in overlap, and it's always a little complicated. 

I've come to see this complication as beautiful although it's at times a pain. It's not about grammar and words, or rarely; it's about cultures and perspectives, experiences, stories and ways of life - and mostly ways of communicating. 

I grew up German speaking in a predominantly French environment. When I visited my cousins in the German speaking part of the country, I was amazed to hear perfect strangers talk in German to their children. I grew up with a sense of belonging to a minority and it took me about 30 years to realize that sense had become a part of who I am, wherever I went and whatever I did. I was never completely and perfectly "one of them". And that betrays me, doesn't it: "them". So in a way my aspiration always oscillates around wanting to be one of them and at the same time wanting to be different from them. 

Learning to see and feel complexity - diversity - as beautiful and dignified is a long journey.  Not being afraid of it, outside and within, that's part of coming to be at peace. Identity can be pluralistic, manyfold, diverse. Perhaps that's why I was drawn early on into peacemaking....