September 11, 2001: A Pacifist Response

Hauerwas, Stanley, 1940-

The South Atlantic Quarterly, Volume 101, Number 2, Spring 2002,
pp. 425-433 (Article)
Published by Duke University Press
For additional information about this article
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http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/saq/summary/v101/101.2hauerwas02.html
Stanley Hauerwas
September 11, 2001: A Pacist Response
I want to wiito honostly alout Soptonloi ,
zoo. But it is not oasy. Evon now, sono nonths
altoi that hoiiillo ovont, I nd it haid to know
what can lo said oi, poihaps noio dicult, what
should lo said. Evon noio dicult, I an not
suio loi what oi how I should piay. I an a Chiis-
tian. I an a Chiistian pacist. Boing Chiistian
and loing a pacist aio not two things loi no. I
would not lo a pacist il I woio not a Chiistian,
and I nd it haid to undoistand how ono can
lo a Chiistian without loing a pacist. But what
doos a pacist havo to say in tho laco ol toiioi?
Piay loi poaco? I havo no uso loi sontinontality.
Indood sono havo suggostod pacists havo
nothing to say in a tino liko tho tino altoi
Soptonloi , zoo. Tho oditois ol tho nagazino
First Things assoit that thoso who in piinciplo
opposo tho uso ol nilitaiy loico havo no logiti-
nato pait in tho discussion alout how nilitaiy
loico should lo usod.
1
Thoy nako this assoition
locauso accoiding to thon tho only loin ol paci-
sn that is dolonsillo ioquiios tho disavowal ly
tho pacist ol any political iolovanco. That is not
tho kind ol pacisn I iopiosont. I an a pacist
locauso I think nonviolonco is tho nocossaiy
Tho South Atlantic Quarterly o:z, Spiing zooz.
Copyiight _ zooz ly Duko Univoisity Pioss.
426 Stanley Hauerwas
condition loi a politics not lasod on doath. A politics that is not dotoininod
ly tho loai ol doath noans no stiong distinction can lo diawn lotwoon poli-
tics and nilitaiy loico.
Yot I cannot dony that Soptonloi , zoo, cioatos and ioquiios a kind ol
silonco. Wo dospoiatoly want to oxplain what happonod. Explanation do-
nosticatos toiioi, naking it pait ol oui woild. I loliovo attonpts to ox-
plain nust lo iosistod. Rathoi, wo should loain to wait loloio what wo know
not, hoping to gain tino and spaco suciont to loain how to spoak without
lying. I should liko to think pacisn nanos tho halits and connunity noc-
ossaiy to gain tho tino and placo that is an altoinativo to iovongo. But I do
not piotond that I know how that is acconplishod.
Yot I do knowthat nuch that has loon said sinco Soptonloi , zoo, has
loon lalso. In tho ist houis and days lollowing tho lall ol tho towois, thoio
was a stunnod silonco. Piosidont Bush ow lion ono salo havon to anothoi,
unsuio what had oi was still to happon. Ho was quito litoially in tho aii. I
wish ho night havo loon allo to naintain that postuio, lut ho is tho loadoi
ol tho lioo woild. Sonothing nust lo dono. Sonothing nust lo said. Wo
nust lo in contiol. Tho silonco nust lo shattoiod. Ho know tho Anoiican
pooplo nust lo conloitod. Lilo nust iotuin to noinal.
So ho said, Wo aio at wai. Magic woids nocossaiy to ioclain tho ovoiy-
day. Wai is such noinalizing discouiso. Anoiicans know wai. This is oui
Poail Hailoi. Lilo can iotuin to noinal. Wo aio liightonod, and iionically
wai nakos us lool salo. Tho way to go on in tho laco ol Soptonloi , zoo, is
to nd sonoono to kill. Anoiicans aio, noioovoi, good at killing. Wo olton
lail to acknowlodgo howacconplishod wo aio intho ait ol killing. Indood wo,
tho Anoiican pooplo, havo locono nastois ol killing. In oui lattlos, only
tho onony has to dio. Sono in oui nilitaiy aio onlaiiassod ly oui oxpoitiso
in wai naking, lut what can thoy do? Thoy aio lut lollowing oidois.
So tho silonco cioatod ly dostiuction was soon shattoiod ly tho nood
loi iovongoa iovongo all tho noio unloigiving locauso wo cannot loigivo
thoso who owtho planos loi naking us acknowlodgo oui vulnoialility. Tho
ag that ow in nouining was soon tiansloinod into a piido-llod thing,
tho lloodstainod ag ol victins tiansloinod into tho ag ol tho Anoiican
indonitallo spiiit. Wo will piovail no nattoi hownany pooplo wo nust kill
to iid ouisolvos ol tho knowlodgo Anoiicans diod as victins. Anoiicans do
not dio as victins. Thoy havo to lo hoioos. So tho stock tiadoi who happonod
to woik on tho sovonty-socond ooi loconos as hoioic as tho policonon
September , : A Pacist Response 427
and tho ionon who woio doing thoii ols. No ono who diod on Sopton-
loi , zoo, gots to dio a noaningloss doath. That is why thoii doaths nust
lo iovongod.
I an a pacist, so tho Anoiican wo cannot lo ny no. But to lo alion-
atod lion tho Anoiican wo is not oasy. I an a noophyto pacist. I novoi
ioally wantod to lo a pacist. I had loainod lion Roinhold Nioluhi that il
you dosiio ustico you had lottoi lo ioady to kill sonoono along tho way.
But thon John Howaid Yodoi and his oxtiaoidinaiy look The Politics of Jesus
cano along. Yodoi convincod no that il thoio is anything to this Chiistian
stu, it nust suioly involvo tho conviction that tho Son would iathoi dio on
tho cioss than loi tho woild to lo iodoonod ly violonco. Moioovoi, tho do-
loat ol doath thiough iosuiioction nakos possillo as woll as nocossaiy that
Chiistians livo nonviolontly in a woild ol violonco. Chiistian nonviolonco is
not a stiatogy to iid tho woild ol violonco, lut iathoi tho way Chiistians nust
livo in a woild ol violonco. In shoit Chiistians aio not nonviolont locauso
wo loliovo oui nonviolonco is a stiatogy to iid tho woild ol wai, lut iathoi
locauso laithlul lollowois ol Chiist in a woild ol wai cannot inagino loing
anything olso than nonviolont.
But what doos a pacist havo to say in tho laco ol tho toiioi Soptonloi ,
zoo, nanos? I vaguoly knowwhon I ist doclaiod I was a pacist that thoio
night lo sono soiious consoquoncos. To lo nonviolont night ovon chango
ny lilo. But I do not ioally think I undoistood what that chango night ontail
until Soptonloi . Foi oxanplo altoi I doclaiod I was a pacist, I quit sing-
ing tho Stai-Spanglod Bannoi. I will stand whon it is sung, paiticulaily at
lasolall ganos, lut I do not sing. Not to sing tho Stai-Spanglod Bannoi is
a snall thing that ioninds no that ny ist loyalty is not to tho Unitod Statos
lut to God and Gods chuich. I conloss it novoi ciossod ny nind that such
snall acts night ovoi tho yoais nako ny iosponso to Soptonloi quito
dioiont lion that ol tho good pooplo who sing God Bloss Anoiicaso
dioiont that I an lolt in saddonod silonco.
That dioionco, noioovoi, haunts no. My lathoi was a liicklayoi and a
good Anoiican. Ho woikod haid all his lilo and hopod his woik would not
only suppoit his lanily, lut also nako sono contiilution to oui connon
lilo. Ho hold a wai-ciitical ol inWoild Wai II, so ho was novoi dialtod. Only
ono ol his vo liicklaying liothois was inthat wai, lut ho was novoi oxposod
to conlat. My lanily was novoi nilitaiizod, lut as Toxans thoy woio good
Anoiicans. Foi nost ol ny lilo I, too, was a good Anoiican, assuning that
428 Stanley Hauerwas
I owod nuch to tho socioty that onallod no, tho son ol a liicklayoi, to gain
a Ph.D. at Yaloovon il tho Ph.D. was in thoology.
Ol couiso thoio wasViotnan. Foi nany ol usViotnanwas oxtondodtiain-
ing nocossaiy loi tho dovolopnont ol a noio ciitical attitudo towaid tho
govoinnont ol tho Unitod Statos. Yot nost ol us ciitical ol tho wai in Viot-
nandid not think oui opposition to that wai nado us loss loyal Anoiicans.
Indood tho ciiticisns ol tho wai woio lasod on an appoal to tho highost
Anoiican idoals. Viotnan was a tino ol gioat tonsion, lut tho politics ol
tho antiwai novonont did not ioquiio thoso opposod to tho wai to think ol
thonsolvos as lundanontally standing outsido tho Anoiican nainstioan.
Most ciitics ol Viotnan(ust as nany that now ciiticizo tho wai in Alghani-
stan lasod thoii dissont on thoii adhoionco to Anoiican idoals that thoy lolt
tho wai was lotiaying. That lut indicatos why I lool so isolatod ovon anong
tho ciitics ol tho wai in Alghanistan. I do not ovon shaio thoii allogianco to
Anoiican idoals.
So I sinply did not shaio tho ioaction ol nost Anoiicans to tho dostiuc-
tion ol tho Woild Tiado Contoi. Ol couiso I iocoil lion nuidoi on such a
scalo, lut I hopo I iononloi that ono nuidoi is too nany. That Anoiicans
havo huiiiod to call what happonod wai stiikos no as soll-doloating. Il this
is wai, thon lin Ladon has won. Ho thinks ho is a waiiioi not a nuidoioi.
Just to tho oxtont tho languago ol wai is usod, ho is honoiod. But in thoii
huiiy to call this wai, Anoiicans havo no tino loi caiolul disciininations.
Whoio doos that loavo no? Doos it noan, as an ostiangod liiond io-
contly wioto no, that I disdain all natuial loyaltios that lind us togothoi
as hunan loings, ovon sulnitting such loyaltios to a haish and unloigiving
standaid? Doos it noan that I spoak as a solitaiy individual, lailing to ac-
knowlodgo that oui livos aio intoiwovon with tho livos ol othois, thoso who
havo gono loloio, thoso anong whon wo livo, thoso with whon wo idon-
tily, and thoso with whon wo aio in Chiistian connunion? Do I ioluso to
acknowlodgo ny lilo is nado possillo ly tho gilts ol othois? Do I loisako all
loins ol patiiotisn, lailing to acknowlodgo that wo as a pooplo aio lottoi
o locauso ol tho saciicos that woio nado in Woild Wai II? To this I can
only answoi, Yos. Il you call patiiotisn natuial, I coitainly do disavow
that connoction. Such a disavowal, I hopo, doos not noan I an inattontivo
to tho gilts I havo iocoivod lion past and piosont noighlois.
In iosponso to ny liiond I pointod out that locauso ho, too, is a Chiistian
I assunod ho also disdainod sono natuial loyaltios. Altoi all ho had his
September , : A Pacist Response 429
childion laptizod. Tho natuial lovo lotwoon paionts and childion is suioly
ioconguiod whon childion aio laptizod into tho doath and iosuiioction ol
Chiist. Paul says:
Do you not knowthat all ol us who havo loon laptizod into Chiist Josus
woio laptizod into his doath? Thoioloio wo havo loon luiiod with hin
ly laptisn into doath, so that, ust as Chiist was iaisod lion tho doad
ly tho gloiy ol tho Fathoi, so wo too night walk in tho nownoss ol lilo.
Foi il wo havo loon unitod with hinin a doath liko his, wo will coitainly
lo unitod with hin in a iosuiioction liko his.
2
Chiistians olton tond to locus on loing unitod with Chiist in his iosui-
ioction, loigotting that wo aio also unitod with hinin his doath. What could
that noan il it doos not noan that Chiistians nust lo ioady to dio, indood
havo thoii childion dio, iathoi than lotiay tho Gospol? Any lovo not tians-
loinod ly tho lovo ol God cannot holp lut lo tho souico ol tho violonco wo
poipotiato on ono anothoi in tho nano ol ustico. Such a lovo nay appoai
haish and dioadlul liontho poispoctivo ol tho woild, lut Chiistians loliovo
such a lovo is lilo-giving not lilo-donying.
Ol couiso living a lilo ol nonviolonco nay lo haish. Coitainly you havo to
inagino, and poihaps ovonlaco, that youwill havo to watchtho innocont sul-
loi and ovon dio loi youi convictions. But that is no dioiont lionthoso that
clain thoy would ght a ust wai. Altoi all, tho ust waiiioi is connittod to
avoiding any diioct attack on nonconlatants, which night woll noan that
noio pooplo will dio locauso tho ust waiiioi iolusos to do an ovil that a
good nay cono. Foi oxanplo, on ust-wai giounds tho lonlings ol Hiio-
shina and Nagasaki woio cloaily nuidoi. Il you aio soiious alout ust wai,
you nust lo ioady to say that it would lo lottoi that noio pooplo diod on
tho loachos ol Japan than to havo connittod ono nuidoi, nuch loss tho
lonling ol civilian populations.
This last olsoivation nay suggost that whon all is said and dono, a paci-
st iosponso to Soptonloi , zoo, is ust ono noio voision ol tho anti-
Anoiican sontinonts oxpiossod ly what nany considoi to lo tho Anoiican
Lolt. I say what nany considoi locauso it is voiy uncloai il thoio is a Lolt
lolt in Anoiica. Nowhoio is that noio appaiont than in tho suppoit to tho
wai on toiioiisn givon ly thoso who idontily as tho Lolt. Yot nuch has
loon nado ol tho inustico ol Anoiican loioign policy that londs a kind ol
intolligilility to tho hatiod givon loinon Soptonloi . I anno dolondoi ol
430 Stanley Hauerwas
Anoiican loioign policy, lut tho piollonwith such linos ol ciiticisnis that
no nattoi how innoial what tho Anoiican govoinnont nay havo dono in
tho woild, such innoiality cannot oxplain oi ustily tho attack on tho Woild
Tiado Contoi.
Anoiican inpoiialisn, olton cololiatod as tho nowglolalisn, is a liight-
oning powoi. It is liightoning not only locauso ol tho hain such powoi
inicts on tho innocont, lut locauso it is dicult to inagino altoinativos.
Pacists aio olton challongod altoi an ovont liko Soptonloi with tho quos-
tion, Woll, what altoinativo do you havo to lonling Alghanistan? Such a
quostion assunos that pacists nust havo an altoinativo loioign policy. My
only iosponso is I do not havo a loioign policy. I havo sonothing lottoia
chuich constitutod ly pooplo who would iathoi dio than kill.
Indood I loai that alsont a countoiconnunity to challongo Anoiica, lin
Ladon has givon Anoiicans what thoy so dospoiatoly noododa wai with-
out ond. Anoiica is a countiy that livos o tho noial capital ol oui wais.
Wai nanos tho tino wo sond tho youth to kill and dio (naylo in an ooit
to assuio ouisolvos tho livos wo load aio woithy ol such saciicos. Thoy kill
and dio to piotoct oui lioodon. But what can lioodon noan il tho piino
instanco ol tho oxoiciso ol such lioodon is to shop? Tho voiy lact that wo
can and do go to wai is a noial nocossity loi a nation ol consunois. Wai
nakos cloai wo nust loliovo in sonothing ovon il wo aio not suio what that
sonothing is, oxcopt that it has sonothing to do with tho Anoiican way
ol lilo.
What a gilt lin Ladon has thoioloio givon Anoiica. Anoiicans woio in
dospaii locauso wo won tho cold wai. Anoiicans won ly outsponding tho
USSR, pioving that wo can wasto noio nonoy on guns than thoy can oi did.
But what do Anoiicans do altoi thoy havo won a wai? Tho wai was nocossaiy
to givo noial cohoionco. Wo had to coopoiato with ono anothoi locauso wo
woio at wai. How can Anoiica nako sonso ol what it noans loi us to lo a
pooplo il wo havo no connon onony? Wo woio in a dangoious lunk having
nothing lottoi to do than ontoitain ouisolvos with tho soap opoia Bill Clin-
ton was. Now wo havo sonothing lottoi to do. Wo can ght tho wai against
toiioiisn.
Tho good thing, noioovoi, alout tho wai on toiioiisn is it has no ond,
which nakos it voiy doultlul that this wai can lo considoiod ust. Il a wai is
ust, youi onony nust know loloio tho wai logins what political puiposo
tho wai is to soivo. In othoi woids, thoy nood to know lion tho loginning
September , : A Pacist Response 431
what tho conditions aio il thoy chooso to suiiondoi. So youcannot ght a ust
wai il it is a wai to ond all wais (Woild Wai I oi loi unconditional suiion-
doi (Woild Wai II. But a wai on toiioiisn is a wai without linit. Anoii-
cans want to wipo this onony o tho laco ol tho oaith. Moioovoi, Anoiica
ovon gots to docido who counts and doos not count as a toiioiist.
Whichnoans Anoiicans got to havo it any way thoy want it. Sono that aio
captuiod, loi oxanplo, aio piisonois ol wai, sono aio dotainoos. No piol-
lon. Whon you aio tho liggost kid on tho llock, you can say whatovoi you
want to say, ovon il what you say is nonsonso. Wo all know tho ist casualty
in wai is tiuth. So tho consoivativos who havo lought tho wai against post-
nodoinisn in tho nano ol oloctivo tiuth, tho sano consoivativos that
now iulo us, assuno thoy can uso languago any way thoy ploaso.
That Anoiicans got to docido who is and who is not a toiioiist noans
that this is not only a wai without cloai puiposo, lut also a wai without ond.
Fionnowon wo can lo in a poipotual stato ol wai. Anoiica is always at hoi
lost whon sho is on poinanont wai looting. Moioovoi, whon oui countiy
is at wai, it has no spaco to woiiy alout tho oxtiaoidinaiy inoquitios that
constituto oui socioty, no tino to woiiy alout povoity oi thoso paits ol tho
woild that aio iavagod ly hungoi and gonocido. Evoiythingcivil liloitios,
duo piocoss, tho piotoction ol tho lawnust lo suloidinatod to tho ono
gioat noial ontoipiiso ol winning tho unonding wai against toiioiisn.
At tho hoait ol tho Anoiican dosiio to wago ondloss wai is tho Anoiican
loai ol doath. Tho Anoiican lovo ol high-toch nodicino is lut tho othoi sido
ol tho wai against toiioiisn. Anoiicans aio dotoininod to lo salo, to lo allo
to got out ol this lilo alivo. On Soptonloi , Anoiicans woio conliontod
with thoii woist loaia pooplo ioady to dio as an oxpiossion ol thoii pio-
lound noial connitnonts. Sono spoculato such pooplo nust havo choson
doath locauso thoy woio dospoiato oi, at loast, thoy woio so dospoiato that
doath was pioloiallo to lilo. Yot thoii willingnoss to dio stands in staik con-
tiast to a politics that asks ol its nonlois in iosponso to Soptonloi
to shop.
Ian Buiuna and Vishai Maigalit olsoivo in thoii aiticlo Occidontalisn
that lack ol hoioisn is tho hallnaik ol a louigoois othos.
3
Hoioos couit
doath. Tho louigoois is addictod to poisonal saloty. Thoy concodo that nuch
in an auont, naikot-diivon socioty is nodiocio, lut whon contonpt loi
louigoois cioatuio conloits loconos contonpt loi lilo itsoll you know tho
Wost is undoi attack. Accoiding to Buiuna and Maigalit, tho Wost (which
432 Stanley Hauerwas
thoy point out is not ust tho googiaphical Wost should opposo tho lull
loico ol calculating antilouigoois hoioisn, ol which Al-Qaoda is lut ono
iopiosontativo, thiough tho noans wo know lostcutting o thoii nonoy
supply. Ol couiso, Buiuna and Maigalit do not toll us howthat can lo dono,
givon tho nood loi oil to sustain tho louigoois socioty thoy lavoi.
Chiistians aio not callod to lo hoioos oi shoppois. Wo aio callod to lo
holy. Wo do not think holinoss is an individual achiovonont, lut iathoi a sot
ol piacticos to sustain a pooplo who ioluso to havo thoii livos dotoininod
ly tho loai and donial ol doath. Wo loliovo ly so living wo ooi oui non-
Chiistian liothois and sistois an altoinativo to all politics lasod on tho do-
nial ol doath. Chiistians aio acutoly awaio that wo soldon aio laithlul to tho
gilts God has givon us, lut wo hopo tho conlossion ol oui sins is a sign ol
hopo in a woild without hopo. This noans pacists do havo a iosponso to
Soptonloi , zoo. Oui iosponso is to continuo living in a nannoi that wit-
nossos to oui loliol that tho woild was not changod on Soptonloi , zoo.
Tho woild was changod duiing tho cololiation ol Passovoi in .. .
Maik and Louiso Zwick, loundois ol tho Houston Catholic Woikoi Houso
ol Hospitality, onlody tho lilo nado possillo ly tho doath and iosuiioc-
tion ol Josus. Thoy know, noioovoi, that Chiistian nonviolonco cannot and
nust not lo undoistood as a position that is no noio than loing against
violonco. Il pacisn is no noio than not violonco, it lotiays tho loin ol
lilo to which Chiistians loliovo thoy havo loon callod ly Chiist. Diawing
on Nicholas Boidyaov, tho Zwicks iightly olsoivo that tho split lotwoon tho
Gospol and oui cultuio is tho diana ol oui tinos, lut thoy also ionind us
that ono doos not lioo poisons ly dotaching thonliontho londs that paia-
lyzo thon: ono lioos poisons ly attaching thon to thoii dostiny. Chiistian
nonviolonco is lut anothoi nano loi tho liiondshipwo loliovo God has nado
possillo and constitutos tho altoinativo to tho violonco that giips oui livos.
I logan ly noting that I an not suio loi what I should piay. But piayoi
olton is a loin ol silonco. Tho lollowing piayoi I hopo doos not diown out
silonco. I wioto tho piayoi as a dovotion to login a Duko Divinity School
gonoial nooting. I was allo to wiito tho piayoi locauso ol a shoit aiticlo I
had ust ioad in tho Houston Catholic Worker ly Joan Vanioi.
4
Vanioi is tho
loundoi ol tho Laicho novononta novonont that loliovos God has savod
us ly giving us tho good woik ol living with and loaining to lo liionds with
thoso tho woild calls iotaidod. I ond with this piayoi locauso it is all I havo
to givo.
September , : A Pacist Response 433
Gioat God ol suipiiso, oui livos continuo to lo hauntod ly tho spoctio
ol Soptonloi , zoo. Lilo nust go on and wo go on kooping on
ovon nooting again as tho Divinity School Council. Is this what Baith
noant in whon ho said wo nust go on as though nothing has
happonod? To go on as though nothing has happonod can sound liko
a counsol ol dospaii, ol holplossnoss, ol hopolossnoss. Wo want to act,
to do sonothing to ioclain tho way things woio. Which, I guoss, is lut
a ionindoi that ono ol tho ioasons wo aio so shockod, so violatod, ly
Soptonloi is tho challongo piosontod to oui piidolul piosunption
that wo aio in contiol, that wo aio going to got out ol lilo alivo. To go on
as though nothing has happonod suioly ioquiios us to acknowlodgo
you aio God and wo aio not. It is haid to iononloi that Josus did not
cono to nako us salo, lut iathoi ho cano to nako us disciplos, citi-
zons ol youi now ago, a kingdon ol suipiiso. That wo livo in tho ond
tinos is suioly tho lasis loi oui conviction that you havo givon us all tho
tino wo nood to iospond to Soptonloi with snall acts ol loauty and
tondoinoss, which Joan Vanioi tolls us, il dono with hunility and con-
donco will liing unity to tho woild and lioak tho chain ol violonco.
So wo piay givo us hunility that wo nay iononloi that tho woik wo
do today, tho woik wo do ovoiy day, is lalso and piotontious il it lails to
soivo thoso who day in and day out aio youi snall gostuios ol loauty
and tondoinoss.
Notes
In a Tino ol Wai, First Things (Doconloi zoo.
z Ronans o:.
New York Review of Books, Januaiy ;, zooz, q;.
q Laicho Foundoi Rosponds to Violonco, Houston Catholic Worker, Novonloi o, zoo.