Peace is Possible

by Nadine Hoover
Buffalo Meeting

Through Friends Peace Teams, I have gotten to know people suffering from extreme violence from El Salvador to North Kivu to Ukraine to West Papua. We say peace is possible, because living in a state of war is intolerable and inhuman and we have alternatives. In my experience it’s people not in war who question whether peace is possible. 

I witness miracles daily, making connections across generations of hate and distrust. Visitation is so critical because no one, anywhere, should feel discarded or forgotten. Trauma takes generations to heal, but we are learning so much about how to heal and to live in peace—both in our private and public lives. We need the faith that infuses the political will to stand up and call for justice and peace. 

Today, endless violence persists in black and brown communities, mostly over land, mining, or oil interests. After the Vietnam War, weapons manufacturers realized people rise up to stop international wars, but domestic wars go unchallenged. So, governments send military aid to secure cheap access to resources. As John Woolman challenged us, “May we look upon our treasure, the furniture of our houses, and our garments, and try to discover whether the seeds of war have nourishment in these our possessions.” The level of violence today is no accident. It’s not natural – it’s planned and funded.

Friends in 1670 believed so deeply that they were willing to suffer for conscience sake: 

TO THE Supreme Authority OF ENGLAND, TOLLERATION (for these ten years past) has not been more the Cry of some, then PERSECUTION hath been the practice of others,… those Freedoms, to which.. (due to our) …English Birthright… (have) been often promised to us, and we as earnestly have expected the performance; but to this time we labour under the unspeakable pressure of Nasty Prisons, and daily Confiscation of our Goods, to the apparent ruin of intire Families.

What would restore such depth of faith to us? 

I feel my generation lost the power of faith with the nuclear bombings and concept of nuclear winter—that human beings can destroy all life as we know it, and therefore human destructiveness is greater than the power of life. We wish Spirit, love, and conscience would prevail, but regrettably feel human violence and deceit win out. 

If you feel this, get a photograph of Hiroshima today. Nothing diminishes the tragedy of the nuclear holocaust, but today the grass and trees are back. The birds are back. The people are back. The city is bustling. The Power of Life outstrips any human capacity for destructiveness or industry. Life goes on, with or without us. The balance of our decisions will determine if human beings go on or not. 

To me, the Peace Testimony means I allow the love and truths laid before me to work within and change me, even when they’re inconvenient or not what I would have chosen for myself. Yielding to Spirit in every moment brings me into the Beloved Community. As William Penn reminds us, early Friends changed “themselves before they went about to change others. Their hearts were rent as well as their garments, and they knew the power and work of God upon them.” May we be so blessed.