Victory Over Violence
and the Culture of Peace

As a panel speaker at the opening of the “Building a Culture of Peace” exhibit at Columbia University, I had an amazing opportunity to introduce the public to the SGI-USA Victory Over Violence program. My talk focused on core concepts that are fundamental to VOV: 1) The relationship between passive violence and physical violence; 2) The value of dialogue in creating a culture of peace; and 3) The need for each of us to take full responsibility for the violence in our environment.

I explained that while physical violence is easy to recognize, passive violence is more subtle. Passive violence is anything we do that undermines the fundamental dignity of another human being or ourselves. Passive violence includes verbal abuse, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, teasing, taunting, putting someone down or making someone feel bad about themselves.

Passive violence is also oppression and suppression of various types whether it be economic, political, cultural, religious, social, etc. While many people think of oppression as something that only occurs on a large scale, the reality is that it can very much exist in our own homes, in our interpersonal relationships, schools, workplaces and local communities.

Passive violence is also choosing to step back and do nothing when you see acts of violence in the environment around you. Gandhi had a theory on the relationship between passive violence and physical violence. He said, “Passive violence is the fuel that feeds the fire of physical violence.” So if we want to put out the fire of physical violence, logically, we have to cut off the fuel supply of passive violence.

In order to break this cycle of violence and create a world where we can enjoy peace, the VOV program encourages the use of dialogue. Through dialogue, we have the opportunity to learn about one another and find common ground by sharing universal human experiences. Through this process, we can begin to see through all of the superficial differences that can divide us and recognize the common humanity that we all share. When we can recognize the fundamental humanity in each person, it becomes much more difficult to commit an act of physical violence. Indeed, I believe this recognition represents the first critical step towards the creation of a culture of peace in our daily lives and in the world around us.

Needless to say, it was truly an honor for a young person like myself to be able to share VOV on the same stage with a Nobel Peace Prize winner and a highly regarded Stanford professor. However, the experience also reminded me that the crisis of violence in our world is one that ordinary people like me — like us — and millions of others around the world must stand up and take full responsibility for at the grassroots level. As Gandhi said, “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.” In my capacity as the National Youth Peace Conference chair, I am determined to make VOV a powerful grassroots movement that will empower us all to move one step closer to the realization of a culture of peace.

By Danny Hall
SGI-USA National Youth Peace Conference Chair