I am very troubled about something, and I need an outlet. This morning, as I was walking to class, I glanced down at the sidewalk and saw that someone had chalked, “Screw Kurds, No War On Iraq.”

I know that this was an attempt by those who support the war in Iraq to diminish the peace movement here on campus by writing something sick and disguising it as something said by those who support peace. My wish is that the people who wrote this would make an effort to understand where we, Time for Peace, are coming from.

First of all, we certainly do not think anyone deserves the kind of treatment that Saddam Hussein dishes out to his own people and to the Kurdish people. On the contrary, we believe that as long as people like him are in power, peace will never be possible.

However, this does not mean that we support a violent overthrow of Saddam, for we also are fully aware that as long as we choose war over diplomacy (or, if diplomacy fails, nonviolence), peace will never be attainable.

In reference to the war in Vietnam, Dr. Martin Luter King Jr. said that we have come to a point in history where we can no longer choose between violence and nonviolence; now, it’s either “nonviolence or nonexistence.” I, for one, believe that the problem in Iraq can be solved without war, though it would take time and a lot of creativity. But a peaceful solution is worth it — we’re talking about the future of humanity here.

I’m sure a lot of you are wondering what my proposal is, and, although I am definitely not an expert in nonviolent tactics, I am an expert in knowing what love is. I believe that if we each listen to what our heart tells us, we will find the solution. My heart is telling me that if we lift our sanctions, feed, medicate and educate the Iraqi people (in other words, show them the path of love), they will discover for themselves the way to freedom and the way to get rid of Saddam (through nonviolence).

Since the Iraqis know Iraq the best, they will know Iraq’s Achilles’ heel, and will, therefore, be able to draw power away from people like Saddam. But I must again stress that we need to first show the Iraqis the way of love and of peace by feeding and educating them before they will know how to solve their problems peacefully.

We must remember that the powerful in this world have one weakness: Power is dependent on those who submit to it. The British lost all power in India once Indians refused to submit to that power.

This is the way to true freedom, true love, and true peace. This is the way of nonviolence. And, make no doubt about it, nonviolence will work — just ask your heart!

Jon Meier

Senior

Religious studies