PERSPECTIVE ON THE NEWS January 7, 1980 Issue

Nullifying violence

Trust in God, omnipotent Spirit, shuts the door on the sweeping temptation to fear evil in any form, whether hatred, sensuality, insanity, fanaticism, or terrorism. No matter how vivid, realistic, or formidable the picture of violence may seem, it cannot touch God's manifestation. And this can be proved.

World news seems periodically to include instances of shocking brutality. Recently, Italian terrorists stormed the University of Turin and methodically injured ten students. In Jerusalem, six Jewish settlers on the occupied West Bank of the Jordan are accused of firing into a school for Arab girls. The taking of fifty American hostages in Iran has become an incident of international proportions.

The result of such events is often a feeling of total helplessness. Concerned governments and agencies can only do so much humanly to patrol and govern world affairs; beyond that, people seem left to their own defense. The usual weapons for combating inhumane actions in a country—political and economic pressure, military support to the opposition, or simply a sincere appeal to morality and humanity—often have little effect. Violence impelled by an amoral sense of power seems impossible to reason with.

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