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Page 24 text:
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John Williams, author
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Page 25 text:
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The crowd shifts in its seats, the William Smith auditorium is filled, part of the audience is standing, anticipating; the lecture is late in beginning. Father Phillip Berrigan, his worn face an d sad eyes more eloquent than his consequent verbiage, walks on stage casually attired in turtleneck and brown trousers. He begins his sales pitch after an introduction by Dr. Kevin McDonnell. The philosphy professor gives a brief synopsis of Berrigan ' s life as a Joesphite priest, his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement; his political awakening, caused by the Cuban Missile Crises— It changed the life of Berrigan. He realized that there is something wrong when political leaders play dice with the future of the world ; and his resulting resistance activities. Berrigan ' s topic, What Resistance means Today, is further defined by McDonnell: What does the movement born in the Sixities mean now that there are no direct confrontations? Now that we ' re back sucking our pacifiers and not talking. Where is the zeal of the sixties now? Berrigan begins his lecture by addressing the audience as sisters and brothers, and makes no pretense at providing answers. His purpose in speaking, by his own definition, is simply to inspire sme reflection. His showmanship is evident: he removes a set ot silverware from his backpocket, explaining that it is a habit acquired in prison. Now I suppose I could be shaken down for carrying lethal weapons. It is easy to picture Berrigan in a pulpit, complete with clerical collar. Like some lost prophet, in search of a doctrinal alley in which to channel his rhetoric and devote his life, Berrigan speaks in parables, allusions and quotes from the Bible, and offers the epiphany of inner conviction and strength. Also a revolutionary, Berrigan speaks in generalizations, fatalistic visions, and simplistic definitions of the enemy , the system , and the cause as any propagandist does in direct appeal-to emotion. He pays lip service to the martyred spokesman of the revolt lon-Ghandi and Kine. Berrigan insists that Americans are crippled by a culture that does not provide its victims with the capacity to say no at the proper moment. According to the ex-priest, many Americans are under the baleful watching of big brother. The great majority of American, he contends, are incapable of dissent , of recognizing the government as our enemy , of refusing the goodies offered to us by our culture and economy. Lecture Berrigan on resistance: Americans are incapable Phillip Berrigan, in a pensive moment during last night ' s lecture, reflects on the resistance movement today. Quoting Simone Whyle, a Nazi resistance leader, Berrigan defines the war myth that Americans accept lock, stock and barrel : ' The acceptance of war as an unavoidable fatality is the root of power politics... Berrigan reasons that by our believing that war is not unavoidable, we fall victims to unscruplous, demented, over mythological people, like Richard Nixon, who use our names and God ' s to justify war. Historically, Berrigan argued, Americans have remained passive, incapable of questioning the immoral, genocidal policies of their government. When the atomic bombs were dropped on Japanese flesh, did we say Truman was right? That through his neat and antiseptic explanation, our boys lives were justly saved? The ; armament bills in Congress are passed with little discussion because, conjectures Berrigan, we do not question war as an unavoidable fatality. In the streets of Chesteftown, it is unlawful to break the fifth commandment, murder, yet the government continues to kill in Indo-China. Pope John XXIII said: Governments are held to the same morality as individuals. ...What gave us the right to shirk responsibility in that area? Berrigan condemns Americans for their inability to stake our lives on the pursuit of truth and non-violence... The consequences are tolerable. Americans are fractured by an inability to suffer for a conviction. He concludes: We are all sucked into the machinery, but there are alternatives. Your responsibility is similar to mine... A half hour question and answer period is spotted with few inquires and uncomfortable silences. The dear Friends of Father Phillip Berrigan, as he repeatedly addressed the audience, either could not rise intellectually or spiritually to the occasion, or were inspired to reflection beyond words. Berrigan verbally shook us by the shoulders, and our response to his occasionally muddled reason and obvious emotional appeal, was to let him walk away from our crowded auditorium unchallenged and unimpressed. by Kjm StJerStorfer
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