Essay
TRANSFORMING HUMANITY THROUGH METANOIA Mitsuo Okamoto I was once asked by a foreign journalist, �gAre the people of Hiroshima peaceable?�h and found myself at a loss to answer. It is not surprising that a non-Japanese would assume the people of Hiroshima, who overcame the tragedy of the atom bomb, to have special feelings about peace. But how should one answer if asked, �gAre the Japanese a peaceable people?�h Protecting Japan�fs war-renouncing Constitution has become an increasingly prominent issue in recent years. But the question is, Do the Japanese people lead lives in keeping with this Constitution? To answer this question, one must first be aware of the nation�fs responsibility to history (atoning for such atrocities as the Nanjing massacre and the �gcomfort women�h), to the present (practicing nonviolence and pacifism), and to the future (leaving a healthy environment to future generations). WHAT IS A PEACEABLE SOCIETY? Peace is not simply the absence of war. There are many different measures of peace, including justice, freedom, equality, democracy, respect for human rights, social welfare, the absence of poverty, and a safe environment. This makes answering the question even more difficult. What exactly does it mean to be peaceable? ................Once while in Germany, I stayed at the home of a famous scholar of peace studies. It was the husband of the family who arose early to prepare breakfast; by the time his wife and children got up, the meal was almost ready. It was the same at the house of a sociologist and enthusiastic peace campaigner with whom I stayed in the United States. I have seldom met a peace researcher who smoked. Something else I have noticed through direct contacts with Western peace campaigners and academics is the large number of vegetarians. These are people who have truly embraced a peaceable way of life. ................Environmentalists often use the watchword �gearth friendly.�h A society that is peaceable in the sense of being earth-friendly is a society that adheres to the principle of harmonious coexistence and is friendly to animals. Of course, human beings cannot exist without killing any plants, animals, fish, or insects. But skinning minks and foxes to make coats and finding pleasure in the death of animals through such sports as bullfighting, dog fighting, and cock fighting is clearly going beyond necessity to excess. Is it not a contradiction that in Okinawa, which its former governor Masahide Ota has referred to as a �gnonviolent land,�h one of the most famous tourist spectacles is a duel to the death between a poisonous snake and a mongoose? PREPARING FOR PEACE There is an old saying, If you want peace, prepare for war (Si vis pacem para bellum), the idea being that a country needs a strong military capability to preserve the peace. Lately, however, we have begun to hear, If you want peace, prepare for peace (Si vis pacem para pacem). This new slogan signifies a search for nonviolent ways to resolve conflict, build peaceable nations, and nurture peace-loving people. In short, it is aimed at establishing an ethic of peace. ................Where national defense is concerned, we should conceive of security not merely in terms of the �ghard power�h of military might but also from the broader perspective of �gsoft power.�h The latter encompasses political and economic stability, just enforcement of the law, respect for basic human rights, political freedom and participation in the political process, comprehensive social welfare, a comfortable and safe environment, workplaces that offer a chance for personal fulfillment, social harmony and order, and democratic human relations. The aim is to create a social structure in which conflict and war are unlikely to break out. The process of building this peaceable social structure is what we mean by �gpreparing for peace.�h Preparing for peace in this way builds trust between peoples and states and helps create a climate conducive to arms reduction. ................It is said that democratic states do not fight wars against each other. This is because in maturing as a democracy, a nation is in effect preparing for peace. Its actions promote the development of an ethic of peace and do not threaten other nations. Democracy, however, is a relative thing. No country has perfect democracy, but neither has any a total lack of democracy. Humanity should apply itself to the task of perfecting democracy in perpetuity. In building democracy, as in preparing for peace, the important thing is the ongoing daily process of striving toward one�fs goal. The well-known American pacifist A. J. Muste said, �gThere is no way to peace; peace is the way.�h This profound observation succinctly expresses the notion that peace is a learning process consisting of everyday actions. THE SLIPPERY SLOPE The path to peace through everyday learning is certainly not smooth, however. Whereas the path to war is a �gslippery slope,�h the path to peace is a bumpy, uphill slog. The path to war is full of excitement, while the path to peace can easily become dull. In his essay �gThe Moral Equivalent of War,�h William James asks if there is any psychological experience that can match the exhilaration of young people, the thrill felt throughout society, the emotions of politicians, and the media frenzy induced by the vast, blood-churning, compelling drama of war. ................In Japan one often hears the reminiscences of veterans looking back fondly on their war experience - the friendships forged between comrades risking their lives together on the battlefield, the sense of fulfillment in carrying out one�fs duty, the display of patriotism, the esprit de corps. These emotions must be even stronger for those on the winning side. Erasmus criticized the romanticized view of war embraced by aristocrats who never had to take part in it themselves, saying, �gSweet is war to those who have never experienced it�h (Dulce bellum inexpertis). That even those who were drafted and suffered cruelly in war can look back fondly on those days as a precious chapter in their lives can be attributed to the tricks that memory plays on people. As Dostoevsky so often noted, however brutal, humiliating, or miserable the experience, the magician known as memory will consign the terrible moments to the abyss of oblivion and shine light only on those aspects that evoke nostalgia. With memory functioning in this way to black out painful experiences, it is hard to instill a sense of penitence in those who have invaded other countries, destroyed their cities, plundered and pillaged, and caused untold injury to other peoples. And without such penitence there is little to prevent people from rushing down the path to war again. This lack of a brake is one reason why the road to war is indeed a slippery slope. ................Of course, this path is not the only such slope. The same applies to excessive consumption, greed, and the wanton indulgence of personal desires. As a direct result of the thoughtless lifestyle characterized by such tendencies, we are now facing serious threats to our health and life from the destruction of the ozone layer, global warming, endocrine disruptors, and such deadly infectious diseases as AIDS and the Ebola virus. The proliferation of nuclear weapons and radioactive contamination are also the consequence of countries selfishly pursuing their own national security and short-term profit. And if it continues unchecked, it will inevitably lead to humankind�fs self-annihilation. STARTING OVER However, there is no need to give up hope just yet. When movements that pursue high ideals are allied to strong political decision making, there is nothing that cannot be changed. Let us consider nuclear arms. Some argue that these weapons of mass-destruction cannot be abolished because �gyou cannot disinvent what you have invented.�h But is this really true? Slavery was abolished. Apartheid was abolished in South Africa. And many countries are moving toward the abolishment of biological and chemical weapons. Cruel forms of execution, such as the guillotine and the gas chamber, have been abolished, and many countries have abolished the death penalty itself. Is there any special reason why nuclear weapons alone cannot be abolished? Anything that was created by humankind can, if the conditions are right, be eliminated by humankind. The shining historical examples of the abolition of slavery and apartheid--also considered impossible at one time--demonstrate the marvelous things of which humanity is capable. ................The fact is that even in America, the nation that has been called the biggest barrier to the abolition of nuclear weapons, a radical disarmament movement has emerged that no one could have anticipated. I refer to the antinuclear activism of such former military commanders as retired generals George L. Butler and Andrew Goodpaster. The fact that this group consists of military experts well versed in all aspects of nuclear weaponry sets it apart from other peace movements. In their new roles as peace campaigners, these former soldiers have attracted attention as part of a new social phenomenon. ................When we extend the logic of disarmament a step beyond the abolition of nuclear weapons, it becomes clear that the draft and, in time, all military forces should be abolished. In Germany each year, some 150,000 conscientious objectors are assigned to work in hospitals, schools, libraries, social welfare facilities, and peace research centers in place of military service. When Naoto Kan, now chairman of the Democratic Party of Japan, visited Europe during his tenure as minister of health and welfare, he was surprised to learn that Germany�fs medical and welfare systems could not function without these young people. In questioning the notion that their most fundamental duty as citizens is to defend their country and refusing to perform military service, these conscientious objectors signal that the time has come for us to fundamentally rethink the role of the military and of war. ................The United States is often described as a society in which everyone is granted a second chance. It is a country where former defense secretaries and generals can repudiate their earlier positions and metamorphose into anti-nuclear pacifists; where it is becoming almost routine for the outstanding graduates of local community colleges to enter famous four-year universities, with some of them gaining doctorates and even going on to become university professors; where women who have spent years caring for their husbands and children as wives and mothers are returning to college to boost their academic qualifications and move into high-level jobs; and where Richard Nixon, forced to resign the presidency after a terrible scandal, was able to make a brilliant comeback as a political analyst in his later years. In American society it is indeed possible for people to start over at various times and stages in their lives. ................This culture is rooted in Christianity�fs doctrine of metanoia--a change of heart that includes the concept of repentance. Many Americans have had religious experiences in which they confess their sins before God, repent, accept Jesus Christ as their savior, and are reborn as fervent believers. The extraordinary success of the evangelical minister Billy Graham over an entire era is eloquent testimony to the attitude of Americans toward second chances. This positive attitude toward starting over is also consistent with the pragmatism that characterizes Americans�f thinking. ................It seems to me that the time has come for the human race as a whole to embrace metanoia and start over. For if it continues down the slippery slope it is on, it will inevitably destroy itself. Implicit in the question �gAre the people of Hiroshima peaceable?�h are a foreigner�fs expectations of a city and a country that rose like a phoenix to recover from the ruins of war. Hiroshima is the antithesis of self-destruction, for it was reborn. But one also senses in this question a poignant cry for humankind to turn over a new leaf and begin again. Just as the cross of the crucifixion became the symbol of salvation, so Hiroshima is the symbol of hope for humankind. ................There has never been a greater need for Japanese Christians to fulfill their obligations to God, within the framework of �gthinking globally, acting locally,�h by solemnly facing up to history, acknowledging their responsibility to the present and the future, and translating that acknowledgment into effective action by taking the lead in citizens�f movements. Could there be a more exhilarating, compelling, and magnificent undertaking than this? Mitsuo Okamoto is professor of peace studies at Hiroshima Shudo University. He has been a visiting professor at universities around the world and has served as president of the Peace Studies Association of Japan. His is the author of Peace Studies in the Nuclear Age and other works. He currently teaches part-time at the University of Tokyo.

return to "on Peace Studies" Top Page

return to the English Top Page