Duane Ruth-Heffelbower

Duane Ruth-Heffelbower

There are several groups that send unarmed civilians into harm’s way to promote peace. Four members of one of those organizations, Christian Peacemaker Teams, have just been abducted in Iraq. Their captors threaten to kill them if a list of demands is not met. The organization is devoted to “getting in the way” between groups that are killing each other.

Not everyone knows that I was the recording secretary at the organizational meeting of Christian Peacemaker Teams over 20 years ago, having heard Ron Sider’s Mennonite World Conference speech at Strasbourg in 1984 that gave impetus to the creation of CPT. His premise was that Christians who oppose war should be willing to endure the same risks as soldiers if their witness is to be meaningful.  

In those days the kidnapping and killing of Americans was unthinkable, and gave great power to accompaniment by CPT and other pacifist organizations. I also had the privilege of participating in the creation of the Nonviolent Peace Force, which is facing the same problem. The days when Americans could roam the world with impunity are gone, thanks in large part to the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Killing Americans is no longer taboo, and has become a way to reach the world stage.

Those of us Americans who insert ourselves into difficult situations around the world need to know that we are wonderful targets of opportunity for those who want to speak to the world. Capturing and killing us is the currency necessary to be legitimate on the world stage. How does that change our behavior? What used to be righteous is now downright dangerous. When we decide to intervene in a situation we have to first decide whether the cause is one for which we want to die, and we have to be ready to accept an unpleasant death. This is a change.

I have been in the way of violent people a number of times, and each time my naïveté and status as an American have kept me safe. Those who wanted to kill me were deterred by the image of a carrier battle group steaming into their waters with thousands of Marines and hundreds of aircraft ready to make them pay for their arrogance. Americans have no idea how powerful they have been because of this self-censoring by opponents of America who feared our power. Killing an American was a dangerous, self-destructive act, until recently. I have walked fearlessly on five continents, largely due to the aura of power even a pacifist American exudes.

That time is past. Now Americans are a ticket to the world news business. If there is no American victim a story is downplayed. If you have an American hostage, all satellites beam your story around the world. Being American is no longer a shield, but has become a bull’s-eye for those who want to be heard. The premise upon which accompaniment organizations are based has changed. Now it is unsafe to stand by an American, rather than recent days when to stand by an American was to be safe. The world has changed, and our response must change. The day when an American could wander the globe with impunity are past. How does a Christian behave in this new world? How do organizations that bank on the former way of doing things shift?