Africa has suffered under widespread and violent colonialism, a system that often spread distrust between local tribes and groups as a way to maintain power and to control the resources of the region. This legacy of colonial violence has troubled the nations of this continent since their liberation in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Catholic sisters as well as priests and brothers have been crucial to bring healing to many communities in Africa as they work for reconciliation and peace.
As the article describes, the process of learning nonviolence takes time, reflection and discernment. Helping students reflect on how much violence permeates our culture is a first step in guiding them to become more aware of what they take in and how it might affect them. The following activity is designed to help them consider just how much violence permeates our culture. They then are asked to articulate the first steps they can consciously take to move toward being nonviolent peacemakers.
Media review: Violence and nonviolence
Divide your group into smaller groups of two to four. Provide each group with a large piece of paper or posterboard and markers. Draw a line through the center of each sheet to divide it into two columns. Use a stopwatch or phone to time the students as they fill in the columns.
- Ask each group to list in one column on the newsprint sheet as many examples of violence in the media (TV shows, movies, games, videos, online and print news, etc. ) as possible in five minutes.
- Ask each group to list, on a second column on the newsprint, as many examples of nonviolence / peacemaking in the media (TV shows, movies, games, videos, online and print news, etc.) as possible in five minutes. Hang up the sheets on the board or on one wall of your room.
What is your first response when you look at the lists that each group has done?
What do these visuals tell you about our culture?
How are young people shaped by their culture; how are you shaped by what you see and hear constantly?
What are the challenges of resisting cultural influences that promote violence?
What actions can you commit to in order to resist the temptations toward violent words and actions, and to begin a journey toward being a nonviolent peacemaker?
How can your faith and your faith community help you to resist temptations to violent words and actions?
We are grateful, O God, for your call to nonviolence. Open our hearts to this call so we can enjoy the peace you offer. Give us insight into cultures of violence. Guide us through the steps we must take to truly become nonviolent. Bless us in our struggles to forgive, to be nonviolent in our responses to ourselves and others, and to be reconciled in your love. Amen.
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