Alec Ewing

HIST 232/PACS 203

Isaac Friesen

Spring 2021

Course Reflection Journal

1. Module 1:

I have had several opportunities to participate in various peace movements, and

yet have rarely taken the initiative to do so. This is something I wish to change about my

life going forward. While I can attribute my lack of participation over the past year to the

ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic, prior to that there has been no excuse. Sure, I’ve signed

many petitions, but I cannot name a single one that actually made a difference in the

world. The only defense I can offer myself is the donations I have made towards various

causes. During the summer of 2020, I donated approximately $200 towards the Black

Lives Matter movement, using the money I received from the CESB. Specifically, I

donated the money towards paying for bail bonds so that those who were arrested while

protesting could get back out to their lives and families instead of wasting time in jail for

non-violent offenses.

2. Module 2:

The winner of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize was the World Food Programme, a

group and initiative formed by the United Nations. Generally speaking, I do believe this

group was as deserving of the award as most other Nobel Peace Prize Laureates. When

one wins the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Committee tends to compliment them on their
 ‘efforts’ towards a goal, rather than their outright successes at accomplishing one, and

this was the case for the 2020 award. There is no conceivable way for the World Food

Programme to accomplish all of the goals they are striving for, but the part that counts is

attempting to accomplish them.

3. Module 3:

Like all strikes taken towards peace, I believe that a sex strike has its fair share of

advantages. On the one hand, sexual relations can be a very big motivating factor,

particularly for men. If something that motivating is taken away for long enough, odds

are the affected party will likely do something in order to bring it back. Additionally, it

allows the affected party to share some of the pain that may be felt by those hurt due to

their inaction. There are, of course, many disadvantages that can affect how well the sex

strike plays out, however. The biggest problem it creates is the potential for violence

(particularly sexual violence) against women who are participating. Additionally, if the

party being denied sexual relations is not particularly affected by the denial, then the sex

strike will not work and further calls for change will likely be affected as a result.

4. Module 4:

While I have never broken the law in an act of civil disobedience as defined by the

course, I have broken laws that I find to be unjust. The drinking age in the United States

is 21, and as a dual citizen, it has always bugged me that driving two hours north means I

can get a cold beer but doing the same thing where I live would result in a fine or prison

time. As I’m now 21 and cannot face many legal consequences for my prior actions, I

will admit to on occasion confidently ordering a drink at a restaurant before the legal age,

or perhaps using a fake ID to get into a college bar with some friends. My primary issue
 with the high age lies with its comparison to the draft age. I had to sign up for the draft

right when I turned 18 or else I could face jail time, which means I could kill other young

men from the Middle East, but not get tipsy. America talks the big talk when it comes to

freedom, but where is the freedom to get drunk?

5. Module 5:

From a moral standpoint I, like most people, am opposed to war. The numerous wars that

have taken place in the Middle East with western intervention in particular strike a

negative chord with me. Why waste so much money fighting when the answer inevitably

lies in diplomacy? I for one am glad there was no draft for the wars in Iraq and

Afghanistan, as I myself would possibly have to face the draft in two countries. As far as

desertion goes, I’m rather torn. On the one hand, less people fighting is usually a good

thing. On the other hand, these men did sign up for combat within the 21st century, where

access to information on just how brutal war can get is very open. It’s very easy to find

out just what one is signing up for through not only the use of historical documents from

other wars but reports on the fighting that took place during the very same wars they

signed up for. In this case, while I believe they should be allowed to stay in Canada, they

should likely face some form of punishment for abandoning other people who may have

relied on them to survive.

6. Module 6:

I find it difficult to hold my tongue in times of injustice. I can barely let a passing rude

comment by a customer or a manager go at work, let alone face violent backlash for

peaceful protest. I support Gandhi because of what he represents. He is a leader, but for

the first time in my lifetime, he is a leader who does not fight. He has patience beyond
 my comprehending, and that is why I follow him; I truly believe he will lead our people

to freedom from British oppression. Violence will only be met with violence, but so will

non-violence, which leaves me struggling inside. How much do we have to put up with

before this nightmare can end? Can we truly be said to be strong if we ourselves cannot

even fight back against the imperialists? And once this march is over, where do we go

from here? What movement could possibly be larger than this one?

7. Module 7:

Often times, works are considered great simply because of who said them, or the context

in which they were said. That is not the case with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a

Dream”. It is a remarkably written speech, with various successful examples of rhetoric

throughout. The most important is obviously the repeated phrase “I have a dream”. King

uses this not only to begin his points about the future he dreams of, but to tie individual

points together. His dream is entirely peaceful, a pure and fair world where people are

judged “not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”. Such elegant,

poignant, and peaceful language was essential when it came to spreading King’s

nonviolent movement.

8. Module 8:

Historical hypotheticals are always a difficult thing to comprehend. How can we logically

reason with a reality that didn’t actually occur? While our answer to the question of a

nonviolent solution to Hitler’s rise to power may never be found, I believe that such a

solution would be impossible. Hitler’s sociopathic leadership proved that not only he but

every single one of his followers was more than capable of killing innocent civilians.

Were a nonviolent resistance to have formed, it is likely that those involved would have
 been either shot dead in the street or received a visit in the night, never to be heard from

again. Hitler’s messages were broad and very popular, and they came at a time when

many people were looking for a leader to tell them how to fix their problems, no matter

the cost, and as such, his ideologies were easily spread and people were easily

indoctrinated.

9. Module 9:

As with any anti-war message, the primary cause to believe in it is a wish to reduce the

pain faced by oneself and others. As such, students who were living in a time when

nuclear annihilation was always just around the corner and could end the lives of them

and everyone they loved before they could even comprehend it, it is likely that Dr.

Caldicott’s audience was most interested in their own survival. Beyond nuclear

annihilation, Dr. Caldicott’s messages about preserving the health of the planet through a

nuclear age would have been seen as something that wouldn’t become relevant for a long

time. The opposite is true for us today. We can see that climate change and the

destruction of Earth’s ecosystems as a clear and present danger, like nuclear annihilation

to those in the 80s, while nuclear annihilation itself seems like something that won’t

come to affect us for many years, much like climate change to them.

10. Module 10:

While I do agree that generally speaking women are more likely to take part in peace

movements, I think that such a phenomenon is more likely due to cultural or societal

trends rather than any sort of biological predisposition. Women in general across the

world are more likely to be forced into caring and motherly roles, whereas men are more

likely to be forced into less emotional roles. Additionally, men are taught from a young
 age to repress emotion and care for others, while the opposite is usually true for women.

As a result, I think that promoting such a message may be somewhat detrimental to

finding allies and participants for peace movements, since feeling forced into a caring

role can often have negative effects on people who are not naturally ready for such an

emotional commitment.

11. Module 11:

Tactics such as the ones used by Greenpeace and other movements have a very good

effect when it comes to making noise. Unfortunately, when making so much noise, their

message sometimes gets lost in the fervor. In creating such a big spectacle, the points

about climate change are often diluted by the media coverage of them. The news outlets

that cover them are more interested in the actual act than the message they are trying to

convey, and thus that’s what most people end up hearing. While I wouldn’t go so far as to

say that it fully alienates people, one cannot be blamed for thinking that such exhibitions

seem performative rather than constructive. Greenpeace puts a lot of effort into these

displays, but often do not draw as much attention to how people can help to stop climate

change. Everyone knows that climate change is happening (those that do not believe in it

should be disregarded entirely), but not enough people know how to help. Greenpeace’s

hearts are in the right place, but their methods overshadow their messages.