From Thomas Paine’s Corner
By Jozef Hand-Boniakowski

You would think that long-time committed peace activists would understand that touting their own commitments to peace while criticizing that of others makes them appear much like their pro-militarist counterparts who take pleasure in showing off their longevity uniform markings on their sleeves. Of course, peace activists don’t actually put hash marks (one for each 4 years of military service) on the sleeve of their shirts. They do sometimes express being in league for their cause, however, in a virtual hash mark manner. Some with a history of having committed acts of civil disobedience see themselves as being above those activists who have not. Some who can produce a long list of the demonstrations they attended project their well-seasoned status as if a multiplicity of participation entitles them to more respect. The fact is that most orchestrated demonstrations produce few tangible results on the issues. Demonstrations do, however, serve a means by which the participants reinvigorate themselves, hopefully, no to the point of zealotry. Some activists find pride in being referred to as “renowned activists”. This ethnocentrism within the narrow parameters of a mostly ethnocentric peace movement capitulates to the human aspiration for notoriety. Being “renowned” comes with caveats. Other activists deem it necessary to criticize peace groups and their members for not doing enough. They brush people and groups off as being all talk and no action. These peace activist critics are good at calling attention to the arrogance of those in positions of power while often failing to recognize the negative power of their own arrogance. When peace activists reach the point of self-aggrandizement to such an extent that they can put down the involvement of others, then an assessment of their own commitment to peace appears warranted.

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