Woman's Suffrage

On Thursday, the video was about the woman's suffrage movement. It followed the movement in both the United States and England, through protests, both violent and non-violent, and also showed the immense amount of both work and strife that the women suffered to get the right to vote, and later, to pass the equal rights amendment.
I knew surprisingly little before watching this about just how hard these women worked to gain the right to vote. I was shocked at how much they went through - arrest, jailing, etc. in order simply to picket the White House and hold protests. I also thought it was interesting how few violent methods were used. Other than a brief mention of acid mailboxes and burning of a building in England, it seemed that the majority of methods were simply non-violent protests, marches, pickets, and events where women would speak to spread awareness. I was impressed with the organization and determination. It raised a question with me about the role of gender in non-violence. Stereotypically the male gender is supposed to be the more violent of the two, and it is interesting that considering the majority of women fighting for suffrage that most of the methods used to gain the right to vote were non-violent. My guess is that there is a strong correlation between the two.
All in all, it is amazing that with such a well known movement in history, people still insist that non-violence doesn't work. It is just a much more difficult way to get things done.

Thich Nhat Hanh, "Working for Peace"

In the excerpt from Thich Nhat Hanh's book "Being Peace", Hanh discusses the attitude that every person can adopt in order to work for peace and non-violence. He discusses Buddhist values about the treatment of others, his experiences, and his theories on the general population's attitude toward other people and how in order to acheive peace in the world, this fundamental attitude must change.
I thought this reading was very insightful and interesting because most people overlook the fact that non-violence can be practiced every day. It is not necessary to have a particular opposing force in order to practice non-violence; it is also in many ways a lifestyle. How we treat those around us matters in the grand scheme of things because it is reflected in how we behave on a larger scale, such as on an international level. People tend to believe that their actions have no consequence, and I think it is for this reason that non-violence is often considered to be ineffective. However, how we behave on a day-to-day basis, as Hanh explains in the excerpt, can affect the world. Our choices in what we consume in this country affect the economics of the world, for example. Also even choices as simple as how we treat others around us. We set an example for other people and we affect the way that they in turn will treat others. If we all made an attempt to be a little bit more peaceful, it would make a huge difference. I think we should all practice the Buddhist practices of reconciliation with even the smallest everyday conflicts in our lives in order to make life easier for ourselves and those around us.