What Are You Willing to Sacrifice for Peace

It was the first day of my first class in Conflict Analysis and Resolution. The air buzzed with enthusiasm as we were introduced to each other and introduced to some of the theories and practices that would be our companions for the next couple of years. I was surrounded by do-gooders, like myself, who desired to make a positive impact on the world. Before us stood a professor, who had already left his mark on the conflict resolution community and had turned to teaching to motivate the next generation of practitioners. Towards the end of the class this professor stood before us, with tears in his eyes, and asked us this question: "what are you willing to sacrifice for peace?" He began to tell a story of a Dutch man named Dirk Willems who had been condemned by the Catholic Church and arrested for following the Anabaptist church. Dirk had eventually escaped from prison by tying fabric together to make a rope and then using it to climb out of his prison window. As he was running across a frozen moat to his freedom, he saw the guard that had been pursuing him fall through the ice. Instead of continuing on, he turned around and saved the drowning man from death. As a result of this act, he was taken back to prison where he remained until 1569 when he was burned at the stake. He had sacrificed his freedom to rescue one of his captors. When the professor had finished relaying this story the once boisterous room had turned silent. Our professor, choked with emotion, emphasizing each syllable asked: "What are YOU willing to sacrifice for peace?"

Years have passed since that time but I have never forgotten that moment. It is a question that has replayed over and over in my mind. I have not fully decided to what extent I am willing to sacrifice for peace. But I know that I can give my time. And I can give my voice.

I want to devote this blog to be a place where crucial conversations can occur. I want to talk about things that are hard to talk about because they are painful or controversial. I want to carve out a space where every side of an issue can be shared without political agendas or personal gains. I do not want this blog to be a place to air grievances or share contentious deeply held opinions. This is meant to be a safe space, free of judgment or shame, where the purpose is to think through what needs to happen to resolve the conflicts that we are witnessing in the world around us. And hopefully as these topics emerge and take shape more people will be led consider that poignant question asked of me years ago: "what are you willing to sacrifice for peace?"