Well, sort of. It wasn't from one of my usual sources, but was based on something I read from a recent interview that I haven't had a chance to rant about. And it isn't a "word" so much as a "term."
Civil disobedience - Refusal to obey government demands or commands and nonresistance to consequent arrest and punishment. (Concise Encyclopedia entry)
It seems to me people are lately ignoring the second half of this in favor of the mere dictionary definition -"refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government" - but it's this willingness to bear the consequences which distinguishes 20th century heroes like Ghandi, King, and Mandela from this recent news maker and interviewee. The key attitude must be "I believe in what I am doing so thoroughly that I am willing to go to jail for doing it."
The interviewee seems, rather, to suffer from delusions of heroism.
I am blessed to know people in the pro-life movement who have gone to jail for their actions. In each case, it turned out that they hadn't really broken the law, and were merely being persecuted. But they were willing to bear this persecution in consequence of the actions in which they so thoroughly believed. And even when those consequences were proven to be unjust, they maintained a peaceful heart toward their persecutors.
No comments:
Post a Comment