Prayer vs. Protest

"The cry for peace will be a cry in the wilderness, so long as the spirit of non-violence does not dominate millions of men and women." - 'Non-Violence -- The Greatest Force,' The Hindu, 8 Nov. 1926  (from The Essential Writings of Mahatma Gandhi edit by Raghavan Iyer)

In past weeks, the United States saw large protests from teachers, government workers, and concerned Americans about workers rights to organize and bargain and the slashing of government budgets leading to massive lay-offs of government workers.  I participated in one of these protests in my state, Texas, in support of teachers in Wisconsin.

I left this protests, and most of the protests I have ever participated in, feeling empty and sad.  I know that I am not the only one who left feeling this way.  I spoke to friends who were there.  I don't think this is how people should feel when they leave an event like this.  There should be energy and excitement.  There should be community and hope.

When I read the above essay, I began to understand why I feel this way. 

The tactics of non-violence, have become widespread in this country.  The spirit of non-violence abides in almost no one.

I have read a number of Dr. Martin Luther King's speeches.  I have read John Lewis' book "Walking with the Wind."  I have read many more books about non-violence, and yet, I forget that non-violence is not a set of techniques for getting what I want.  It is a way of life.  A way of being.  It is heart and soul and not hand, foot, and tongue.

Prayer is more important than protest.