Stephen Zunes , professor of politics and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco and chair fo the academic advisory committee of the International Center on Non-violent conflict, offers a view off the mainstream media grid.
He claims that the most successful pro-democracy protests have been the non-violent ones. Over the past decades, this has been the case. Note - the Philippines, Serbia, Chile, Poland, Bolivia, the Maldives and now Egypt and Tunisia.
Even Libya made its greatest strides in the early non-violent phase of the uprising. In the first week resignations took place in the cabinet, pilots crashed their planes or flew them out of the country, refused to bomb protesters. Thousands of soldiers defected. But when the protest grew violent the gains stalled.
Zunes claims that Libya may end up being an example not of the ineffectiveness of non-violence but of the need for strategic, well-organized non-violent protest.
It takes great courage to take part in these protests but in the long run, the violent rebellion may prove far more costly.
Peter
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
But I don’t like church!
So how is the church to respond to a generation that does not seem to want to go to church? Some younger people are attending but the echo generation (the children of the boomers) is less connected to church than previous generations.
Tom Sherwood, former campus minister, is helping us to listen and learn to the echos. Tom is conducting a research project on youth and young adults called Listening to the Echo.
Tom’s research uncovers a deep spirituality that is part of the lives of many young people. They care about justice issues. They are passionate about the environment. They just don’t see the church as being relevant or helpful to them.
Tom heard this comment from a 20 something young person:
“Religion is more harmful than helpful.”
Tom says he has heard lots of ignorance about who we are as the United Church. Many young people confuse us with Catholicism and American fundamentalism. When the echos articulate their theology, it is remarkably like our own in the United Church.
How do we help echos see the real us?
Perhaps we need to be clearer and more articulate about who we really are. as a faith community. Perhaps we need to find ways to be in conversation with young people to see what we do have in common or to see what we can learn from each other. What do you think?
....more on this in weeks to come.
Peter
Tom Sherwood, former campus minister, is helping us to listen and learn to the echos. Tom is conducting a research project on youth and young adults called Listening to the Echo.
Tom’s research uncovers a deep spirituality that is part of the lives of many young people. They care about justice issues. They are passionate about the environment. They just don’t see the church as being relevant or helpful to them.
Tom heard this comment from a 20 something young person:
“Religion is more harmful than helpful.”
Tom says he has heard lots of ignorance about who we are as the United Church. Many young people confuse us with Catholicism and American fundamentalism. When the echos articulate their theology, it is remarkably like our own in the United Church.
How do we help echos see the real us?
Perhaps we need to be clearer and more articulate about who we really are. as a faith community. Perhaps we need to find ways to be in conversation with young people to see what we do have in common or to see what we can learn from each other. What do you think?
....more on this in weeks to come.
Peter
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