Great Throughts Treasury

"My spirit was far from broken. Prison strengthened my commitment to peace and social justice. It made me more determined to live in a loving community, and more committed to resisting militarism, even if that would mean spending more years behind bars."

"My justification for nonviolent revolution stems from what I and other Plowshare activists believe is fact: that Christ embodies God; He is the image, as Paul says, of the invisible God. Looking upon Him, listening to Him, following Him, is to be in union with God."

"Nevertheless, the revolution isn?t over."

"No food or water. Around 6:00 p.m., we are ushered, still in our stocking feet, before a judge who charges us with thirteen felony counts. Bail is set at $250,000 for six defendants. Dan and I are held without bond. The charges are ludicrous, the bail absurdly high. Our act of disarmament harmed no one. We scattered our blood on an evil system, not on the men and women who work at G.E. We beat on nose cones, not human beings."

"No king ever concentrated in his being such absolute authority over human destiny. ?The claim by fallible human beings to inflict total devastation for the sake of the national interests of any particular state is an acute variety of idolatry."

"Nonviolence was not defunct. We just needed to envision new ways to work. Not as individual peace activists, but as extended families, working and living together, sharing our love, our talents, everything we might have, supporting one another for the long haul; that is, for the rest of our mortal lives. During my years behind bars, I had seen young men succumb to despair. Arriving with high ideals, they broke under the strain of prison life. Some compromised to shorten their sentences, vowing never to break the law again. Others withdrew into sullen shells, devoured by anger and loneliness. They had taken a principled stand, but without the support of a loving community they couldn?t withstand the brutality of prison."

"Nuclearism is the ultimate fundamentalism of our time. Above all, this is the idolatry against which we stand and because of which we stand in this court. And the modern state is the child of the nuclearist religion. In the years since 1945, the modern state has moved steadily in more and more authoritarian directions. The process was subtle. Leaders who insisted that the major stake in international conflict was the fate of democracy were the very ones who steadily eroded democratic content in the name of ?National Security.? Legally, we have witnessed a constitutional antipathy to standing armies give way to an expanding, permanent military establishment with the Pentagon as the cathedral of the nuclearist religion. We have seen the Executive Branch claim privileges to keep national security information secret without any correction from the judiciary. Judge Munson, this nuclear, national-security state is a new, as yet largely unanalyzed phenomenon in the long history of political forms and of civil religions."

"Not long after Frida?s birth, Liz and I were arrested for an action at the Pentagon. Liz was sentenced to six months, reduced to 90 days. I was given 60 days in jail. We served time in the same jail, though we were not allowed to talk or meet. Frida was 18 months old, Jerry about six months. We did our time, confident the community would take good care of them."

"Obviously, from what he says here, the Christian has an imperative obligation to make war on war. In another part of the message, he maintains that it is a moral obligation ?to ban all wars of aggression,? a duty which is binding on all, and one that ?brooks no delay, no procrastination, no hesitation, no subterfuge.? It may be worthwhile to ask if the present nuclear impasse would be possible if Christians had a sense of morality in this regard, or if they had paid serious heed to his words."

"Nothing of that matters; we aren?t attempting to reform or overthrow the government. We don?t care who sits in the White House, or who walks the hallowed halls of Congress. The King of Prussia action, and Plowshare actions that will follow, are not attempts to offer an alternative policy to nuclear madness."

"On the way home, things would calm down a bit. We didn?t pretend. Their mother was in prison, and she would not be coming home soon. But she was alive, she was well, she loved her children, they loved her. And what a gift to see her, to hear her voice, to feel her warm spirit, even if only once a month. We were extraordinarily blessed to have Elizabeth as mother, wife, and friend."

"One of our early leaflets explained our position: ?Yet is the issue simply one of survival? Not at all. The issue is dying inside?it is allowing the bomb to supplant the spirit of Christ. When that is done, the nuclear crematorium, the world, will be a ghostly climax. . . we die inside when we don?t resist.?"

"Only after extensive reading and much careful thought did I change my views on celibacy, and even then I didn?t want to leave the church; I just couldn?t stop the church from leaving me."

"On April 30, 1975, the National Liberation Front marched into Saigon. America?s longest, second-most expensive war was over. The casualties were staggering: More than 58,000 Americans, and 2?4 million Vietnamese were killed. 300,000 Americans wounded, 5 million Vietnamese refugees. Over 2,000 Americans, and 200 thousand North Vietnamese, were missing in action. The Air Force dropped the equivalent of several atomic bombs on Vietnam?four or five times the amount of TNT we used in both fronts during World War II. During one eleven-thy period, 740 B52s and 1,000 other aircraft sorties dropped 36,000 tons of bombs on the Hanoi-Haiphong area. The U.S. doused Vietnam with 18 million gallons of defoliants, destroying 5 million acres, an area about the size of Massachusetts. We razed all five of North Vietnam?s industrial centers, thousands of schools, and hundreds of hospitals. At one point, Richard Nixon threatened the North Vietnamese with atomic weapons."

"Our friend was confirming Gandhi?s observations that ?the truth seeker should go to jail even as a bridegroom enters the bridal chamber?; that ?social betterment never comes from parliaments or pulpits, but from direct action in the streets, from the courts, jails and sometimes even the gallows.? Or Dorothy Day?s statement that ?if Christians seek a better life for the poor and relief from the tyranny of nuclear weapons, they must fill up the jails.?"

"Our children suffered terribly when these weekend visits ended. They wrapped themselves around Elizabeth, reluctant to let her go. One last kiss and they would leave their mother, knowing that another month must pass before they could see or touch her again. They wept, as children do, with a heart-breaking passion."

"Our critics say that attacking atomic weapons with ballpeen hammers is an act of violence. Destroying property, they insist, is a form of violence. At best, it is a curious argument, one I?ve heard many times before. Warheads whose sole purpose is to vaporize cities are hardly to be thought legitimate property. Bombs that indiscriminately murder millions of men, women, and children are not ?property.?"

"Our imprisonment, we knew, pointed out the big lie. Power might or might not come from the barrel of a gun, but justice never does."

"Our critics accuse us of neglecting our children. But neglect, it seems to us, occurs when parents observe injustice and refuse to act; when they choose to turn their backs on suffering. Children are perceptive and deeply caring, more sensible and often stronger than adults. They watch their parents closely, and are confused by ?do as I say, not as I do? contradictions."

"Our government is crypto-fascist; the Contract on America is a fascist, not a conservative, document. The war on the poor is orchestrated by fascists. The so-called war on drugs expands police powers, undermines the Bill of Rights, creates drug barons, and enables the CIA to befriend traffickers like the Nicaraguan contras."

"Our prayers go with you. And our wishes for the light, the strength, the peace of Christ."

"Our resistance doesn?t stem from self-interest or personal gain. We are not hoping to win theological accolades or spiritual promotions. And yet we are certain that we could not be doing anything more important. We go forward though in fear and trembling."

"Our love has deepened through the last four years?we?ve paid dearly for it, as have our friends. We have considered our relationship a service to the victims of American aggression, to other Americans, to our families and friends, and to one another. We have lived these four years married in every sense but life-style (having no common home) and public knowledge."

"Our trial had been a farce. We weren?t judged by a jury of our peers, and the conclusion was inevitable. The judge never instructed the jury that it could set the evidence aside, and decide our innocence or guilt on the basis of their conscience, a tradition called ?jury nullification.? The Catonsville trial had nothing to do with justice."

"People talk about taking the country back from the usurpers, but what does this mean? In the name of liberty and justice, Pat Buchanan and friends want to establish an Old Testament Theocracy. In their ideal world the state will not only be God?s representative on earth; the state will be God. Persecuting the poor, abolishing Affirmative Action, building more prisons, executing more prisoners, expanding police powers, burning books, denying gay men and women jobs, fanning the fires of bigotry and hate, nourishing the addiction to war; all this will be an expression of God?s will."

"People have ventured many reasons for this. One enlightened friend ventured that Catholics are more keenly aware of religious and life-giving symbols. Others say that the nuns taught us something about the cross of Jesus Christ, and led us in the stations of the cross, which helped implant a conviction; that we ought to be expending ourselves for the poor, and for those who needlessly suffer."

"Peter wanted a fellowship with Christ without consequence?official reprisal, ostracism, torture, execution. We want citizenship in the empire and its attendant goodies?a ?deterrent? nuclear blanket and the ?right? to consume seven times our share of the world?s output, without consequences?war, ecological devastation, death in the Third and Fourth Worlds."

"Pius said, ?Wars are waged in defiance of all international laws, with bestial ferocity. It is seen that following war crimes, there is a great irreparable damage to morals which comes from this school of hatred and misery called war. Secret arms foil plans of governments which thought it would be possible to wage war justly in the hope of gaining victory. All this and many other things show that today it is impossible in waging war to fulfill the conditions which in theory make a war lawful and just. Nowhere can there be a cause proportionate or of such importance as to justify so much evil, slaughter and destruction, and moral and religious ruin. In practice, then, it will never be lawful to declare war.?"

"Peter is not alone in his denial?American Christians practice it habitually. We warm ourselves at the imperial fire as Christ is haled before a kangaroo court, keeping ourselves anonymous, maintaining a distance, unaware that the fire is a metaphor for nuclear lunacy, glorification of wealth, bloodshed for profit, and violence as a way of life. The fire burns us terribly, but we are unaware. The fire makes impossible any allegiance to Christ, any standing with him?makes everything impossible except denial."

"People who are alienated from one another have little impact upon the political community, or they use it as an arena for self-interest. Consequently, the political order often becomes a mirror of collective myopia and selfishness, reflecting the partisanship and nationalism of its people. In contrast, Peace on Earth tells us that ?these political communities must harmonize their relations according to truth and justice, and in the spirit of active solidarity in liberty.? The truth referred to demands that we admit ?the natural equality of all political communities in dignity and human nobility.? Truth demands that we look upon all people with objectivity springing from a realization of common nature, common rights, and common interest. Truth demands that we be truthful, and honest because we are truthful, and that we require from our church, our government, and our news media the same substance of truth that we require from ourselves. Justice, in turn, implies ?the recognition of mutual rights and the fulfillment of their corresponding duties.? Justice demands that ?when political communities advance opposing interests, the conflicts must be settled neither by force of arms nor by fraud or deceit, but by mutual understanding, by an objective appraisal of the facts and by an equitable compromise.? The sense of solidarity of which the encyclical speaks requires that both individuals and nations are obligated to develop what has been called a species-wide identity, which is at once the common denominator of mankind and the most important reality of its existence. Pope Paul clarified this point in last year?s Christmas message, in which he said that brotherhood is impossible until men confront the ideology of nationalism, the division of racism, the fear of arms. Finally, the sense of liberty requires that men set up goals which are good, fulfilling, and possible, and that both people and their nations assess their freedom against the obligations of initiative and responsibility."

"Perhaps in the above you might perceive my difficulty in speculating about the priesthood, and how it might serve man as physician and prophet. For who will finally legislate as to training, experience, freedom? And who will provide what is most crucial of all?example?"

"Plowshare activists maintain that there are two great historical commentaries on the law. First, Christ was condemned in accordance with law. The Judean leadership told Pilate that, according to their law, Jesus must die for declaring himself the son of God. Our Lord was completely innocent. He spent his life teaching the good, healing the sick, and feeding the hungry. He preached nonviolence, urging his followers to love their enemies. Second, in our day the law legalizes nuclear weapons. The slaughter in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was legal. The spread of nuclear weapons has been legal. Atomic warfare that threatens to spawn a nuclear winter, destroying life on earth, is legal. The poisoning of millions of human beings, and the contamination of our air, food, and water supplies, is legal."

"Recall the excuses offered in the Gospel to explain absence from the wedding feast?a wife, a farm, oxen. Today, the excuses from a clear call for resistance to the murderous war policies of Washington are similar? a job, the good life, a wife and kids, fear of separation, loneliness, prison. One wonders at the lesions of soul which allow such craven merchandising, which sells freedom so cheaply, which abandons so many innocent to the clutches of American or Soviet Junkers, or of power-mongering ad men like Nixon."

"Resisters cannot persist and survive without community. Sooner or later, they will be frustrated and crushed. That?s why we invested so much time, effort, and money into starting Jonah House. We wanted a place where people could share meals and ideas, study scripture together, and support one another through the long haul."

"Plowshare activists go to jail in order to resist the empire. We are innocent, but there is no other way to make our statement. We make it publicly, in court, before the press and anyone who cares to listen. We do not choose to go to prison. That is the government?s decision. We violate unjust laws, and take the consequences, whatever they may be. But our submission doesn?t mean that we respect the corrupt judicial system. We go to prison for our nonviolent beliefs, not because we accept the empire?s rules."

"Power always blames its victims. Mrs. Thatcher was sworn to protect Britain?s interests in Northern Ireland. False arrests, beatings, torture, assassination, these were not enough; she must transform Bobby Sands and the hunger strikers into monsters. Demagogues, megalomaniacs, dictators speak the same Orwellian language: The state is powerful; therefore the state is good."

"Samuel Butler once said that Christians are equally horrified to see their religion practiced, or to see it doubted. All over this land some Christians have been horrified by our lives. Which is their choice, except that most offer nothing real to stop the killing, to outlaw war before it ends civilization. Let them judge us, let any court or government judge us when they have a better idea."

"She also understood that, like the raids on draft boards during the Vietnam War, Plowshare actions provoke controversy, stir anger and condemnation. We pour our blood to symbolize the death of innocent human beings. But our actions are meant to be more than symbolic. We pound on bombers and submarines with hammers; intending to damage and, if able, literally to disarm them."

"Sidney Lens once wrote that splitting the atom for war was the greatest single tragedy to befall humankind in its entire history. He then went into particulars?greater in its destructiveness than all the natural catastrophes?floods, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions?disasters causing deaths in the hundreds of millions. Greater than the purges, decimations, genocides of the tyrants of the ages?Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, Hitler, Stalin. Greater than all of these, even when combined with natural disasters."

"Sisters and Brothers, I judge this an occasion to share our joy and gratitude with you. For God has released our mother from the quiet battle which distinguishes life. And for this, we have nothing but thanks. I sense my incapacity for the incapacity of anyone?to appraise a life like Frida?s. In such a life, one can only explore the mystery of themes, of meanings and markings. And then strive to remember, to learn and grow up. Jerry and I were privileged to witness her death at 6:20 p.m. on Thursday. It was a death woven from her life; she struggled to breathe quietly and steadfastly, as she had lived for nearly 91 years, quietly and steadfastly. And when she could struggle no longer, when her exhaustion became final, she stopped breathing, giving herself over to that ?King for whom all live,? as the Office for All Souls calls God?then to begin in Him, resurrection and life. Since witnessing the peace which attended her death, and the credentials of struggle marking her wasted body, I have thought of Christ?s appearance to the disciples on the first Easter: ?Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, Peace be to you! and when He said this, He showed them his hands and his side.? (John 20:19). Which is to say, He traced the connection between peace and the cross; between peace, and suffering endured for others. I began to understand the old biblical axiom that there is no reconciliation without bloodshed?no reconciliation without an offering for others. His peace was indistinguishable from his wounds. In fact, He could only offer peace because He first gave himself as ransom for all. A central Old Testament theme has it that no one knows God until one knows injustice. And?the prophets were careful to stress one knows nothing about injustice until one struggles against it. Today, knowledge of God means struggling against the bombing of the innocent, against victimizing the weak, against the put-down of women and blacks, against the imperilment of everyone by atomic wrath. Struggle against these and you will know injustice; struggle against these and you will know God. So would prophecy remind us today."

"Silence, acquiescence, passivity, complicity influence (bought) by a job. Conscience nullified by acculturation to a standard of consumption. Or better still, replaced by a standard of consumption. As it amounted, the teacher?s biggest contribution to his prisoners was a personified helplessness. In him, the system ?worked,? having first made a commodity of him."

"So it is that the Gospel provides a standard of interpretation?a vision of life by which to interpret and to confront the works of death. We must, in fact, speak the Word of God to that which threatens humankind most? modern war dominated by the bomb."

"Still another was the military stalemate in Korea. The Vietnam War was the third Asian war the United States lost. And all of these were serious blows to the empire."

"So much for being different?being Christian according to the Word of God. But there is another aspect to this unconditional love that we need to explore, one that is at the core of being different, being Christian. That is to say, most of us can truthfully say: ?I don?t hate this one or that one who has abused or injured me. I wish them nothing ill; I will not retaliate in kind.? And indeed, we will not retaliate in kind, even given the opportunity. To that degree, we love our enemies."

"Some Christians argue that a nuclear war would cleanse the planet of evil and bring about the Kingdom of God. This is the supreme insult to God. Is she responsible for cutting down our rain forests, poisoning our rivers, lakes, and oceans? Does she start wars, build concentration camps, and engage in ethnic cleansing? Did she design, test, and deploy nuclear weapons?"

"That the criminal conduct of which the defendants stand accused was taken to prevent a greater harm to themselves or others, which was imminent. That there was no effective legal alternative method or course of action available to them that could be taken to avert this so- called harm. That there was a direct causal relationship between the criminal conduct taken and the avoidance of the alleged harm. In other words, if a house full of children is burning it is necessary to break down the door to rescue them. This, in essence, is the necessity defense."

"The church has been tainted by imperialism. It has learned to lie relative to the Scripture. The church distorts, suppresses, and refuses to preach the Scripture; the church has learned to lie about its own Scripture. In the ?sixties, many people embraced violent revolution. I recall one conversation with young radicals who were leaving for the national Democratic convention in Chicago. They were armed with chains, and were preparing for street battles with the ?pigs.? Revolutionaries, they said, must fight violence with violence. I replied that the means we use to fight for justice are the ends. In our struggle for liberation, we must not adopt the oppressor?s means; otherwise, we become the oppressor. Using the means of the oppressor is contradictory, counterproductive, and counter-revolutionary."

"The Bible says that hope is closely related to faith. One hopes because one believes. One believes in God?s promises, in the ultimate goodness of human beings, in the redemption of Christ, in the advocacy of the holy spirit. One believes; therefore, one hopes. We can?t live without hope. We need it as we need water and bread. And so one of the most precious gifts we can give others is to offer hope; to be a hopeful example, standing for life instead of death."

"The Christian who follows Jesus must be a nonviolent resister and revolutionary. There is no avoiding this truth. A Christian must take risks for the Kingdom of God, the New Jerusalem, the new sisterhood and brotherhood. Christians are obligated to resist collusion between church and state, and to fight nonviolently against tyranny, injustice, and oppression."

"The Biblical view of the law, the courts, and the state is profoundly radical. The Bible looks upon the state as a kind of rebellious artifice; it is spurious, a human creation in rebellion against God. In the Old Testament, when the first state is proposed in the person of Saul, the first King of Israel, God tells the prophet Samuel that this project spells rejection of God. The state and its legislation are in rebellion against, or rejection of, God. Its courts are a human fabrication, cannot promote justice and peace; they are founded in violence, and legalize violence."