By Paul Chappell
Notes made by Russ Faure-Brac 1/21/2013
- The book explains why we are living in one of the most hopeful eras in human history and why peace is within our grasp. Peaceful Revolution is about questioning war’s underlying assumptions and its prevailing myths, and about lifting our perception of humanity to new heights. The deepest secrets of war are finally being unlocked, including how to end war.
The following sections are the muscles of peace that must be developed.
- HOPE
- There are 3 kinds of trust: Trust in yourself, trust in other people and trust in your ideals (selflessness, sacrifice, service). These are the basis for “realistic hope.”
- “Ordinary citizens, not presidents, are the brightest visionaries and the true engine of progress.”
- The highest expression of hope is “realistic idealism.”
- “Although I am dedicated to serving America, my country extends beyond our national borders.”
- EMPATHY
- “Empathy is our ability to identify with and relate to others.”
- Quoting Gene Hoffman, founder of the Compassionate Listening Project, Sun Tzu, author of “The Art of War” and Gandhi:
“An enemy is a person whose story we have not heard. We cannot effectively confront our enemies unless we know them. When we do this they cease being our enemies and we transform them not into corpses, but friends.”
- Lt. Col. Dave Grossman from On Killing: “Human beings have a natural aversion to killing other human beings.”
- Three forms of dehumanization in War: psychological, moral or mechanical distance.
- Three forms of dehumanization in Exploitation: Industrial, Numerical and Bureaucratic distance.
- We must learn how to love. Love is a skill and an art.
- The Army saying “One team, one fight” also applies to soldiers of peace.
- APPRECIATION
- What always feels good every single time, with no exceptions? Appreciation.
- Stewardship is the highest expression of appreciation.
- CONSCIENCE
- It’s not “What would Gandhi do?” It’s “What should each of us do to be a force for good in the circumstances that surround us?”
- Intelligence is what separates us from other mammals.
- Three methods of selling oppression to the masses: conditioned inequality, super-humanization, and misinformation.
- Four factors that cause people to commit societal violence: justification, no alternatives, consequences (nothing to lose) and ability
- REASON
- The more frightened and angry a person is, the less rational he is.
- He uses an uplifting tone of hope and empowerment rather than doom and gloom when talking about our national and global problems.
- The value of reflex training: you do not rise to the occasion in combat; you sink to the level of your training.
- We have constructed monsters such as an economic system that values profit over people and a military industrial complex that perpetuates fear and violence. What we have made we can also undo.
13. DISCIPLINE
- Warrior discipline is self-control, delayed gratification (civilians in WWII), inner freedom (meditation), putting oneself at risk when witnessing injustice, mastering fear of death and an uncontrollable lust for sex.
- Warriors are protectors.
- CURIOSITY
- Philosophy strengthened his muscle of curiosity.
- The peaceful revolution is a revolution of mind, heart and spirit and is bolstered by science. It will create a paradigm shift that changes how we see war, peace, our responsibility to the planet, our kinship with each other and what it means to be human.
- The information revolution has dramatically changed our understanding in many ways. Instead of tearing down the house where our traditional values reside, the peaceful revolution will build on its foundation and take our understanding to the next level.
- It’s not that you become an adult when you can take care of yourself – it’s when you can take care of others.
