In the beginning of reading Rudy Wiebe's Peace Shall Destroy Many, I was unsure about how this could be such a controversial book. Now that it's over, though, I think I get it.
The end of the book makes the reader think that a couple of good Mennonite boys, Hank Unger and Thom Wiens, went out and joined the army. How could that be?!
Being raised in the Mennonite church, I sort of feel like pacifism is just a part of me--like it's engrained in me. And while I enjoyed this novel, I think that is why the ending made me feel a little uneasy. In all honesty, my uneasy feelings make me feel uneasy because saying these things makes me sound like some old person who hates change and is being overly protective of the Mennonite faith.
Anyway, part of me sort of thinks that the reader maybe could have predicted this situation. In chapter 2 we see a quote from Joseph that reads:
"Though Mennonites, because of their training, naturally abhor violence, yet they faintly admire it, somehow, in someone who without thought 'hews to it'! And if Germans are involved, this unconscious admiration is even bolstered a bit by our almost nationalistic interest in Germany. After all, we are displaced Germans, at least ethnically, and because we haven't had a true home for four hundred years, we subconsciously long for one. It will take this war to knock any silly German ideas out of our heads"(27).
While this is not the ending that I would have expected from a Mennonite writer, and while I do have unresolved feelings toward the book, I am so thankful that Rudy Wiebe did invoke those feelings for his readers. Too often, we get stuck in our Mennonite bubbles and forget what people in other parts of the world, or even people from our very own religious tradition, have to face on a daily basis. I'm sure that there have been many Mennonites who have grappled with the idea of pacifism and I am grateful to Wiebe for exposing the other side to us.
I had a similar experience. I was also raised Mennonite (and pacifist) and I had never really questioned it until this novel and the play Gadfly. I also think that this book was not received very favorably by some Mennonites because there are some characters (like Deacon Block) who are racist, which doesn't exactly make the Wapiti Mennonites look very inclusive.
ReplyDeleteI had a somewhat similar experience as well. I consider myself a pacifist in some sense (though not entirely) and I thought this book was helpful in raising important questions about pacifism. The biggest flaw I see in pacifism (from my own experiences) is that it demonizes self-defense if taken too far, which I disagree with. I've thought a lot about that, but not about the questions Wiebe raised in Peace Shall Destroy Many. I really appreciated that aspect of the book.
ReplyDeleteDominique, you bring up a very interesting quote in your blog post. Can you think of some contemporary examples of Mennonites who believe in pacifism, but also are impressed by military strength? In some respects, it's human to be in awe of power, whether military or otherwise. To choose and support the way of peace takes more than just conformity to a traditional belief, it takes conviction and courage.
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