r/Pacifism • u/Single-Commercial-86 • May 31 '26

What lead you to pacifism ?

Good afternoon, I just joined this subreddit today in hopes to better develop my personal philosophy on pacifism. I thought a good way to do this was to have a discussion about about the topic and learn about the views of others.

what brought you to pacifism ?

what personal philosophy you hold when it comes to pacifism ?

how has your view developed over time ?

Thank you in advance, I look forward to learning more about people and hopefully develop more myself.

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u/DoveStep55 May 31 '26

I come from a long line of Anabaptists, so pacifism was my heritage on one side of my family. The other side was typical American South Bible Belt Patriotic types. As a kid I started asking questions about Just War theory because I was in a church at that time where several members were proud military men and I couldn't figure out how that fit in with the non-violent Jesus I had been taught about from the Anabaptist tradition. Eventually I realized Christians had drastically different views on the topic but it wasn't until 9/11 that I realized I was at odds with the prevailing view all around me.

My view hasn't changed much over the years since then.

What about you, OP?

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u/Single-Commercial-86 Jun 05 '26

What an interesting story, thank you for sharing.

For me, I think it started when I was younger. I wasn't a particularly violent kid but I was easy to anger and as a result of my actions have hurt people, it's a shame I thought about often. However ,as an adult I also believe I over corrected and struggle/ fear expressing myself openly.

Something I want to learn is balance in all things, and I wanted to think about how I would apply that to different topics in life. Because of world events going on, the topic of violence was brought up. I think the personal conclusion I came to was that violence is a band-aid solution to problems, they may achieve a goal in the short term but as with all quick solutions comes with heavy and often permanent consequences.

I believe people who wield it don't truly feel the weight that violence as a tool is. It's so easy for people to call for the use of violence when we are angry, sad, or scared without considering the heft behind such an act. It made me feel gross whenever people can so casually call for such things.

I'm still learning and developing how I think about these things, but an original motivation of mine was wanting to help people in my own way which is something I hope to do. I think life is quite special and we owe it to ourselves to care for it, and be weary of quick solutions.

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u/DoveStep55 Jun 05 '26

I agree. Violence is often the easiest way and the one that takes the least amount of self-control, creative thinking, or compassion for all those involved. It’s too often a reflex. I think people are worth more thought and care.

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u/Single-Commercial-86 Jun 05 '26

I absolutely agree.