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Third Side Freedom Ride: Evoking the Past to Invoke A Future
by Reverend Robert V. Thompson
Reverend Bob Thompson is a seasoned civil rights leader and a friend
I trust. This article outlines an excellent initiative. I am committed
to ride on one of the proposed freedom buses. This is a great opportunity
for Muslims in America to learn more about the civil rights struggle of
today and yesterday. Abdul Malik Mujahid
The Context
Preaching at the Washington
National Cathedral just five days before his assassination, Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. said, “I believe today there is a need for all people of good will to
come to a massive act of conscience and say in the words of the old Negro
spiritual, “We ain’t goin’ study war no more. his is the challenge facing
modern man.”
A messenger of healing and hope, Martin Luther King’s vision of a beloved community
strikes a deep chord, especially in a post 9/11 world. Rather than seeing ourselves
as connected in a beloved community wrapped in a garment of mutuality or sharing
a vision of how we can come together with others and create a new world, we
have fallen into the consciousness of alienation and fear. Many of us are plagued
by a subtle uneasiness, a nagging feeling of powerlessness and a gnawing sense
of despair. There is a pervasive awareness that we have lost something fundamental
to the American character, the American dream, the very vision of America.
Lacking the leadership to
call us to a creative and constructive vision of the future, we languish in the
painful awareness that something is missing in our collective life.
In his book, The American
Soul, Jacob Needlemen argues that we have lost the power of the American
“myth”. He writes, “ A mythic image, symbol or event contains just this unique
power of inner and outer meaning, spiritual and material meaning. America needs
to recover its mythic dimension. If not, if it begins to live only in …its
outer dimension, it will have lost all that really nourishes the life of a
nation or an individual. It will be an outer empire alone, an empire only of
money or military power or empty promises. And such an empty empire will soon
die. And to the extent the world places hope in America the world may die with
us.”
The Civil Rights movement of
the 1950’s and 60’s is a shining example of such a mythic symbol of inner and
outer meaning. It was a time to face our conflicted world, face our fears, and
confront each other and ourselves in a brand new way. More importantly, it was
a public acknowledgement that we can become skillful enough to mediate and transform
our collective consciousness.
Once again, we find ourselves living in a dark time. But, as Theodore Roethke
put it, “in a dark time, the eye begins to see.” Interestingly enough, it seems
that many are beginning to see that the Civil Rights movement provides
lessons and motivations for our challenges today. On their own initiative,
people are taking Civil Rights road trips - carving out a week to visit sites
such as Rosa Parks Library and Museum, the Dexter Ave King Memorial Baptist
Church or retracing the steps of the route from Selma to Montgomery. These and
other Civil Rights shrines are becoming increasingly popular destinations for
people of all ethnicities and political persuasions.
In our current context, it is all too easy to become mired
in nostalgia. As profound as the Civil Rights movement was, it does no good to
idealize or sentimentalize it. The movement was no panacea for race relations,
social or economic justice or racial harmony. It certainly didn’t solve all of
our problems. Yet, it clearly remains an enduring archetype within the American
experience. Perhaps it can help us see how now, as then, that we are being
called to a new kind of action and a new kind of responsibility.
The Third Side
In his book The Third Side, William Ury writes, “No more important challenge
faces us today than how to deal with our differences. The challenge exists
on the smallest scale and on the largest…everywhere people are fighting and
at a huge cost, imperiling our happiness at home, our performances at work,
the livability of our communities, and ultimately, in this age of mass destruction,
our collective survival.”
These words take on a special
poignancy when remembering the charged and fearful atmosphere following
September 11th. We lived with that eerie and surrealistic sense of a
world unhinged. What might happen next? Will they contaminate the water
supply? Dirty Bombs? With the sudden appearance of anthrax we held our
collective breath. Fear was palpable and pervasive. One older woman in the Chicago area
received a letter postmarked, Palatine, Illinois. But having heard all the anthrax warnings,
fearfully, she called the FBI. Terrified, she pleaded that someone come right
over because she had received a letter postmarked “Palestine”.
Feeling unsafe heightens our anxiety and intensifies fear.
Personally or collectively, we will do just about anything
to feel safe. We go to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, convincing ourselves that
we can destroy those who threaten us. We turn domestic airports into armed
camps, libraries into Orwellian computer stakeouts - and don’t forget the duct
tape. The war and the lashing out, gives us some short-term relief.
Following the victory in Iraq, Americans purportedly felt safer. Then suddenly
the terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco shattered the illusion.
While these attacks occurred far enough from home, they got our attention and
we began to wonder when it would happen again here.
While most people believe that
terrorism must be met with force, it can also be argued that terrorism can
never be solved by force or reactive violence, much less a Department of
Homeland Security. The current strategy addresses the symptoms rather than the
cause.
Like the human body, the social body also has an immune system. Keeping our
relationships healthy by dealing with conflict early and often is the best way
to prevent destructive behavior and violence.
Every person has a role to play
in strengthening the social immune system. Every human being can become a
peacekeeper, healer, mediator and teacher of non-violent conflict resolution.
We can do this in our homes, schools, neighborhoods, religious communities,
nation, and around the world. The third side is the local and global immune
system against violence. The more people there are involved, the more people
take responsibility, the stronger the immune system.
And as we are occasionally
reminded, terrorism is not only about foreigners who perpetrate harm against U.S.
citizens and U.S. interests. Terrorism is also a homegrown disease. Those who
live in neighborhoods plagued by gangs are on the receiving end of terror.
Several years ago, the students of Columbine High School were terrorized.
Several months ago, students were terrorized at Case Western Reserve University.
The woman who seeks shelter in a safe place because of domestic abuse is a
recipient of daily terror. Whether in the form of a catastrophic explosion
or hidden acts of cruelty, terrorism always represents a breakdown of the
protective social fiber of human relationships.
Just as a strong individual
immune system can fend off both the common cold and fatal diseases, so can the
third side immune system fend off terror both large-scale and small. The
third side is a way of relating to the conflicts around us - in our family,
workplace, community, and world - that actively seeks to transform destructive
conflict into healthy conflict and cooperation for the benefit of all sides.
The third side is the power of
the whole. Thirdsiders know that every person has a legitimate point of view
and that conflict cannot be resolved unless everyone is respected as human
beings and allowed to articulate their point of view.
The third side may seem an
anemic response to the many manifestations of terrorism, especially those that
are large and dramatic. How can an immune system founded on these principles
overcome the horrors of terrorists flying planes into buildings or to street gangs
holding communities hostage?
When I asked Bill Ury how a
stronger immune system could have prevented September 11th he said,
“Witnesses might have informed us of the terrorists' plans. Peacekeepers the
world over might have frustrated the terrorists and taken them into custody.
Healers would have been healing the wounds of the Islamic world. Mediators
would have been working hard to resolve the obvious conflicts like that of
Israel-Palestine. Teachers would have been at work teaching other ways of dealing
with differences and about the tragic futility of violence. Providers would
have been addressing the conditions of poverty and oppression that often breed
terrorism. Bridge-builders would have been building bridges between the Islamic
and Western world. Arbiters, equalizers, referees would all have been at work."
Overcoming Racism - Overcoming Terrorism: Two sides of the Same Coin
Racism is fueled by fear.
Terrorism is fueled by fear. For the third side to confront terrorism as
effectively as the Civil Rights movement confronted racism, we must understand
that terrorism cannot be defeated by brute force. The military and law
enforcement play a critical role in terms of preserving order and peace.
Terrorists must be stopped and arrested. But fighting fire with fire only keeps
the embers burning and ultimately builds a bigger fire. We must learn to fight
fire not with fire, but with water. It is only as we commit to cooling things
down that the risk of terrorism actually diminishes.
Just as the Civil Rights
movement changed the climate then, so can the third side become active and
change the climate of the world today. Civil Rights freedom rides rode for
freedom from the terror of racism. We need a new generation of freedom riders -
people who understand the ubiquitous nature of terror not only in its global
manifestations but in its many local expressions. A strong third side has the
power to create a safer world than a Department of Homeland Security because
the third side is not about giving in to fear but about finding our
strength in solidarity with each other. The stronger the third side is in this
country, the stronger it will be in the world. Fostering an understanding of
the third side is the first step in the journey.
Third side freedom rides
The third side already
exists. We need to identify it, catalyze, and organize it. We need to help people
discover the thirdsider within and encourage people to join together in a way
befitting the 21st century. Upon this commitment our future rests.
One way to do this is by
taking a dramatic action that shows how the third side is the only realistic
and practical way to find a long-term solution for terrorism (destructive
conflict/violence), whether locally or globally rooted.
Scenario One: People come in 30 buses from different directions
across the country. Using the visual impact of a freedom ride theme, people
arrive in buses to Montgomery, Alabama. The first morning visits are made to Montgomery, Alabama Civil
Rights sites. On to Selma in the afternoon.. The next day it is Jackson, Mississippi.
The third day it is Little Rock, Arkansas.
On each of the days on the
Civil Rights trail, those who travel hear the stories about the past. But
people also learn about how what happened at that site is a reflection of what
the third side is all about.
The destination of this
thirdside freedom ride is Oklahoma City. This is the day to take the lessons of the Civil
Rights movement and use them as a thirdside springboard to how to prevent
terrorism and create a better world in the future. On the final day the five
thirdside commitments and the third sidecircle explain ways to get
involved in our own communities. (see below for brief explanation)..
Scenario Two: Same as above except the rides go from Montgomery and
Selma, to Birmingham and finally Atlanta. We make Civil Rights stops along the
way. In Atlanta, our final destination is another terrorist site, Olympic Centennial
Park, site of the 1996 bombing. We have the same thirdside day in Atlanta that
we would have in Oklahoma City. This route is not as long, allowing more flexibility
and perhaps some creative media possibilities.
But the point of each is that
we begin with Civil Rights Sites that point us to the future, where we are and applying
third side skill and wisdom against the current menace of terrorism.
Scenario Three: Suggest another alternative!
Such as: A third route could begin in Memphis, stop in
Greensboro, North Carolina (site of the lunch counter sit-ins) and end up in
New York City, at Ground Zero.
Or how about a route beginning in Birmingham and ending
at the Pentagon.
Outcomes
Other possibilities at the
final destination: have a bi-partisan delegation of Congressional
Representatives and Senators. It must be bi-partisan! How about the President
and Democratic Presidential candidates riding on the buses for 30 to 60
minutes? Give them all a Third Side tee shirt, hat, etc.
The idea is to create a
mainstream movement that will help empower everyday people, insert a new topic
into the national conversation, and begin to address terrorism using a
different set of questions and from a different perspective.
The evening of the final day
concludes with a large celebration with key public figures making appearances
and some sort of commitment ceremony where all present pledge to return to
their homes and initiate third side circles to begin working on resolving
conflict.
Some additional thoughts
about the final day:
These are intended to be suggestive:
All thirdside freedom riders will be given the opportunity to become card-carrying
members of the Third Side by signing on to the “five commitments.”
On the last day, at the end
of the “thirdside freedom ride”, in the vicinity of a place where a terrorist
attack has taken place, i.e. Oklahoma
City, Centennial Park, Ground
Zero, there is a process to develop third side circles. The third side circle
is a local group that meets to educate and support each other with the shared
commitment to work together to address conflict in their own community. We all
need training.
People develop ways to
support each other when they return home. Attention is given to exploring key
questions such as: 1. What kind of conflict around
you (in your life) are you drawn to work on? What kind of support would enable
you to play that role more effectively? 2. What kind of conflict in your
neighborhood or community can you help resolve?
Creating a global network of these circles which will
provide information, support, and appropriate collective action on global
conflict is an anticipated outcome of the thirdside circles.
Media
If (in the presence of all
the variables) this action can grab the attention of the media, there is the
potential to inject a new topic into the national conversation through
television news stories, articles, letters to the editor, Op-Ed pieces, the
internet, etc. Embedded reporters would be welcomed on every bus. We need
photographers who can catch this vision and “picture it.” We need stories of
individuals and communities who have put the third side into action.
When consciousness changes,
the world changes. We saw this not only in the Civil Rights movement, but in South Africa
and in Eastern Europe. The power of consciousness is the power to create
new realities. When we change the climate, new things grow. A third side
movement aims to change the climate, creating a safer world.
If you are interested in being part of this initiative, please fill out
the form at www.justiceforall.org
Your Comments
Khadijah El-Amin, Richmond, VA -
wrote on 7/13/2003 4:22:17 PM
Rating:
Comment: Good article, but the people have to remember that a historical imperialist crime began with robbery or land and the wealth of other nations. History is reapeating itself with the aid of technoligical and taxpayer dollars. In our own homeland we are plagued with corporation robbery and pillage of government funds that are leaving our communities, workers and taxpayers being left destitute and at the mercy of government leaders who are co-opted by PAX 's for their individual greed all the way up deposing of a head governmen CIA member selling classified secrets. Their self centered agrandiziment is submitting Americans to slow deaths from loss of social security benifits, medical care, jobs and crimes.
Tasnim Benhalim, Texas -
wrote on 7/10/2003 3:28:55 PM
Rating: 
Comment: Assalam aleikum,
This is one of the most important articles I have read in a long time. As Muslim Americans we should be in the forefront of calling our country to remember its greatness - in justice and fairness for we call forth not only with the power of the constiution and bill of rights - but also with the divine power of equality eluciadated in our Qur'an and beloved Prophet saws. Please feature more articles like this. It is exactly what we Muslims in America need. Wa shukran for your excellent efforts @ Sound Vision.
Best salaams,
Tasnim
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