There is something attractive about raw human courage, valor, the willingness to do the "right thing" in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Surely Spirit would approve of this activity. Surely this selfless sacrificial effort would earn merit!? The legendary St. George slain the dragons that persecuted and devoured countless worthy souls. Surely his model would inspire worthwhile emulation?
Not so! St. George of "The Dragon" fame teaches the wrong message. What is taught as "courage" to slay the dragons does not lead to the underlying real objective of Peace. Peace doesn't come from the violent slaying of the dragons in the pit. Peace never proceeds from victory. Only conquest, subjugation and resentment proceeds from victory. The pursuit of victory is one of the chief distracters preventing mankind's discovery of true peace.
Peace only comes from Peace. Peace comes from releasing all impulse toward conflict. The only way to achieve escape from oppression is surrender. What we call "oppression" is the forced (violent?) control/manipulation of the behavior of another. To stop that event, one must somehow simply stop it. One does not stop it by mounting a countervailing or contrary oppressive attempt. Such coercion is either unsuccessful, creating great misery, or successful, creating continuing oppression of another color.
Peace comes from peace. Peace comes from releasing all impulse for conflict. Thus, the only way to "win" is to accept, not to attack in (self-) righteous anger. If peace is the objective, it is always available. It is always as near as the refusal to attack. At this point in the discussion, my ego sounds like a motorboat: "but, but, but, but". Still, it is a truism that "peace can arise only when conflict is abjured". Are we perhaps really seeking something other than peace?
But, even if accomplished, foregoing the ego's impulse toward (violent?) counter-attack is only an elementary learning. It's relatively easy to understand how self-defeating and counter-productive attack truly is. The crafty ego may lose that first round easily, but it is not yet finished. It has a bag full of "compromise" positions to try out, any one of which might hook your belief.
One of the ego's early attempts at compromise is: "I will surrender when I am sure it is appropriate, but first a careful analysis of the situation is required." It seems important to judge who is correct, who at fault, who should be the proper authority, whose will is the more beneficent, more helpful.
Analysis will not lead to peace either. Analysis, being an ego-based judgmental undertaking will not even lead to real understanding. At best, careful analysis may generate a "position", a posture, a more coherent bias with which to derail any hope for true forgiveness.
The ego says, "I'm not attacking anyone (right now), I just know who/what is Right!" From this more hardened, committed position, the ego can prevent "forgiveness" (i.e. overlooking what never occurred) for a long, long time. The ego is insulted upon each occasion that you affirm: "I do not know the thing I am. I do not understand what is really happening here and I have no basis upon which to judge this situation.
Another familiar ego compromise is, "It would be foolish to become just another faceless, useless victim of malevolence. Peace would be better served if I resisted now, instead of later after suffering much more loss." Or, how about the martyr-ego's compromise: "I now challenge you to hurt/destroy me, knowing that by doing so you will expose your malevolence and immorality for all to judge."
This is only a variation on the Course's statement: "behold me brother, at your hand I die." This posture can even seem (deceptively) holy. It certainly seems to be passive enough! Can there be real virtue in passivity?
Mahatma Gandhi would say not! His discipline of non-violence was never passive. His entire nation-wielding strategy was based on relentless confrontation with the evils and excesses of the Colonial power. He was always ready to challenge arrogance or stupidity, by insisting that it be carried to its logical conclusion, but never by violent opposition. It was the same tactic in social terms that the Japanese martial arts employ. Artfully yield to the aggressor, using the aggressor's own energy to accomplish his defeat.
I suggest that we're not being counseled by The Course to be passive. We are being counseled to be totally courageous. Real courage is relentlessly, actively forgiving. Real courage is to stand up in the trenches and say, "can we talk?" Real courage is to go outside, sit on the gun-barrel of the menacing tank and talk. Peace is not for wimps. It takes guts. It takes consummate courage to face what appears to be great threat and offer only forgiveness.
Love is the sole alternative to fear, whatever the ego may insist. To escape fear, the only path is to embrace love. Peace is the natural and inevitable fruit of Love. The embracing of love leads as certainly to peace as peace leads to glory.
Only "cowards" like the ego could attempt to find peace through victory.
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