By Don Henninger
Picture a country where fear of one’s neighbor is rampant, distrust of law enforcement is the standard, destructive riots occur regularly, and threats of political violence loom large over the minds of its citizens.
This evokes images of modern America, but we’re thinking of another country: Northern Ireland, in the lead-up to the violent and deadly multi-decade conflict known as The Troubles. With worries of political violence top of mind for millions of Americans, learning from leaders who have helped navigate conflict in other countries may give us insights for maintaining peace here at home.
We recently joined a delegation of 25 faith and community leaders from several U.S. states – including five leaders from Arizona – on a trip to Northern Ireland to learn from community leaders involved in navigating The Troubles. The trip was jointly sponsored by The Carter Center and Rethinking Conflict, a nonprofit group working on conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and reconciliation.
Throughout the trip, we got glimpses into the abyss that political violence creates. We spoke with the victims of terrorism, kidnappings, and bombings. We saw what a community looks like when it devolves into two armed camps, groups of people who have dehumanized each other, and then try to pick up the pieces afterwards. The vivid images of violence, destruction, fear, and trauma will long remain in our memory.
A recent poll found that two out of three Americans fear violence after the general election on November 5th. Identifying strategies to avoid this outcome is essential.
In Belfast, Rev. Dr. Gary Mason, who founded Rethinking Conflict in 2015, gave us perspective on the extent of the violence in Northern Ireland. During The Troubles, there were over 3,500 deaths and more than 47,000 people injured in a country of only 1.5 million people. An equivalent conflict if it were to occur in the U.S. would equate to over 9 million casualties and over 750,000 deaths.
Political violence leaves scars that do not heal easily, and some never heal. Violence doesn’t just mean car bombings and assassinations, it also means harassment of voters and poll workers, intimidation, and unruly demonstrations, all of which increase public distrust and fear. Violence turns many against the original cause and leaves a path of destruction and pain in its wake that impacts generations to come.
We returned from Belfast to Arizona with renewed energy to prevent sliding into a similar abyss of political violence. Our conversations with these leaders showed us that violence only begets more violence and that democratic systems have the means to resolve differences through elections, public discourse, and compromise.
We can say no to this type of partisan and sectarian violence in Arizona. We must treat each other with dignity and respect, however much we may disagree. We can support democratic solutions by engaging with our elected officials, being active and informed citizens, encouraging others to vote, and even contributing time and money to political campaigns. And in the end, we can peacefully accept the results of secure elections. If our candidate does not win, we can look to the next election and still engage with those in office to share our concerns.
Democracy provides for the peaceful transfer of power. The future of our freedom and justice – and peace in our communities – depends on all of us supporting that idea. We call on others to share in this vision and to support democracy, with all its flaws. You can sign on to support the basic principles of democracy and honest political campaigns. If you are interested in joining our network, you can learn more at https://www.arizonadrn.org
Don Henninger, is Senior Warden at Saint Barnabas in Paradise Valley. He and Ron Barber of Tucson are co-leads of the Arizona Democracy Resilience Network, a cross-partisan group of leaders from across the state working to improve the quality of our democracy and to ensure safe, fair and secure elections.
