RA Angotti
In honor of this national holiday we have closed the dojo. I encourage the Concordia students (who still have classes today) to consider some reflection on the Legacy of Dr. King today in lieu of class.
During the disruption of 2020, I began to look more deeply at the teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King. I have felt particularly challenged by his letter from Birmingham jail.
“Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Letter from Birmingham Jail
In the letter Dr. King asks all Americans to consider more deeply the unique privileges of their birthright, and how the cause for ending prejudice and injustice will inevitably require the heartfelt engagement of “white moderates”.
“The cause of America, is the cause of all mankind.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense 1776
It is easy to hear, when listening to Dr. King read his letter from Birmingham jail, just how much progress has been made since the civil rights movement. However, I recently listened to interviews with Political Scientist, Barbara F. Walter who explained that the United States is no longer recognized as the worlds longest standing democracy. After January 6th, 2021 the United States was downgraded from a Democracy to an Anocracy by the Center for Systemic Peace. Dr. Walter has spent her career studying the rise of civil wars across the world. She explains that several critical pieces are already in place for potential civil war in the United States. As I listened to her explanation, I could hear the still poignant voice of Dr. King advocating for heartfelt engagement towards a peaceful coexistence.
Anocracy
As Dr. Walter explains an Anocracy (or an anocratic society) is neither fully Democratic nor fully Autocratic (a dictatorship). Instead it is composed of attributes of both. She explains that civil wars typically occur not in Democracies or Autocracies, but within an Anocracy.
A true democracy is built upon the principle of equal rights for all, and majority rule through the election of government representatives. An Autocratic government is government rule through the authoritative power of one individual, “whose decisions are subject neither to external legal restraints nor to regularized mechanisms of popular control.” By comparison, an Anocracy is a partial democracy, lying between these two forms of governance.
A Recipe for Civil War
The US Government maintains a “Political Instability” task force which is responsible for assessing global nations in order to evaluate the risk factors the might lead to civil war. Dr. Walker served as a consultant for this group which exists within the CIA. This task force has found that there are two fundamental criteria in countries where civil war foments. The first factor is a shift toward Anocracy. This involves adjustments in democratic systems that distribute power into fewer hands with fewer checks and balances.
The second factor that this group identified is the emergence of population groups and political parties with specific ethnic, racial, or religious identifications; who also seek to gain power but at the exclusion of others. Small factions of these groups are often militant.
Dr. Walker explains that the groups that tend to start civil wars consist of populations that once had power, but are now seeing that power in decline. Many within these groups are willing to use violence in an attempt to regain power. The research shows that countries in this condition develop decentralized pockets of militias. These paramilitary groups sometimes collaborate but often they employ a “leaderless resistance” strategy and use the tactics of guerrilla warfare, terrorism and insurgency through “small cell”, loosely affiliated actions.
White Christmas
I had added a picture here of US congressman with his family in front of a Christmas tree. The family proudly shouldered automatic weapons. I’ve since changed my mind on sharing the photo.
Maybe it is time to take a step back. What kind of society are we looking for? What future do we wish to make our legacy? If politicians embrace an identity where “might makes right”…. on Christmas, what does the future of democracy look like? When power is obtained through violence it is maintained through violence.
A resurgence in white identity grievances is underway, and alongside that, a resurgence in white identified, militia organizations. The rise in these affiliations began after the election of Barak Obama, and the Department of Homeland Security has identified white supremacist extremists as the biggest domestic terror threat today.
Recent polls indicate that over 30% of Americans believe that “violence against the government can at times be justified.” Meanwhile, we have 120 guns for every 100 Americans circulating amongst us.
The War Within
“But, though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you’…. So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?”
Dr. Martin Luther King, in his Letter from Birmingham jail, Quoting Jesus as represented in the Bible.
The first place I began teaching Aikido was at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, CA. My wife and I introduced Aikido at the school through a course much like what we teach at Concordia today. We once had a faculty gathering and I met one of my wife’s colleagues, a Christian Brother and professor at the College. The professor told me that he had always wanted to study Aikido. He said, “Jesus gave us the message, but I believe that O’Sensei gave us a technique.”
“As soon as you concern yourself with the “good” and “bad” of your fellows, you create an opening in your heart for maliciousness to enter. Testing, competing with, and criticizing others weakens and defeats you.”
― Morihei Ueshiba, founder of Aikido
The Art of Peace
Jesus, O’Sensei, and Dr. King give us much to work on. Their teachings are a constant reminder that the wars we wage with one another, are a manifestation of the fundamental war we wage within ourselves.
