This year we shall be hearing a lot
about conscientious objectors and about the principle of
conscientious objection. On 15th May, International
Conscientious Objectors day will have added poignancy this year, with
thoughts going to those who chose not to fight when conscription was
introduced during the first world war. It is clear from both world
wars that this was not plain-sailing for those already
in the Society of Friends – individuals' choices led them both to
leave and to come into the Society of Friends, the former being those
Friends who decided to enlist and the latter who could not in all
conscience take the life of another person. For many others already within the Society, its support - such as that shown by NFPB - in practical and spiritual ways, was crucial in sustaining and supporting them.
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| White carnations representing CO's around the world, past and present, at a Manchester ceremony a few years ago. |
The Quaker peace testimony has never
been easy. It has, over the years, been in a key expression of what
it means to be a Quaker and for this reason the Society of Friends
has been a place that has attracted those whose own beliefs and
convictions were at odds with those of the community or faith group
to which they originally belonged. It is assumed that those joining
the Society of Friends will share a commitment to peace in general
terms; what each of us is conscientiously led to do about that will
vary. It isn't just about the extraordinary choices that people
have to make during wartime. Peace, as Friends have come to
understand it, is also about positive action. What conscientious
commitment can we make to building peace today? What can we
conscientiously affirm about peace?
The first decade of this century was
named by the United Nations as the Decade for a Culture of Peace.
That was easy to forget, with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan exacting
such a heavy toll throughout the period. But work was done to explore
and promote the concept. A culture of peace could be seen as a whole
set of values, ways of living together and approaches to dealing
constructively with conflict. It is a concept that can open up many
doors to action, from nonviolent resistance to community
bridge-building and developing personal capacities for
peace-building.
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| Logo for the Decade for a Culture of Peace |
As a Society of Friends, we have many
of the ingredients to hand that could be key components of a culture
of peace. We can't take these for granted though and must continue to
work on developing and learning what it means in practice to be a
community committed to peace. And we can rejoice in the fact that we
are not alone; one of the things that the Decade highlighted was the
spread of peace initiatives in many areas of life throughout the
world. We have much to give, but also much to learn and to gain from
others.
