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Mahatma Gandhi, the great nonviolent leader, was born 140 years ago today (Oct. 2).

Just wonder how he would have dealt with much of what passes for political dialogue on the Internet, talk radio or some cable television in our times. I’ve been reading various commentaries on several sites on the Web today and the hostile and mean-spirited discussions that followed them. I also made the mistake of tuning into the misnamed Fox News channel, which might more accurately describe itself as the Fox Fantasy channel or, too often, the Fox Hate channel.

Imagine Gandhi trying to introduce a sane thought into this mix.

In honor of his birthday, though, I’ll let him introduce a few sane thoughts here.

Gandhi speaks:

“Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.”

“I reject any religious doctrine that does not appeal to reason and is in conflict with morality.“

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”

“A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave.”

“Whatever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is very important that you do it.”

“An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it.”

“What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.”

1. Dallas says:

   October 2, 2009 at 11:10 pm

   Timely. Provocative. Well-presented. Thank you.

   Reply
2. Bob Lamb says:

   October 3, 2009 at 8:54 am

   “Ghandi Speaks to Our Times”: Boy, does he! But is anybody listening? Are enough of us listening to quell the toxic influence of daily and hourly acrimony that is corrupting political discourse and the body politic nowadays?
   This is a very timely piece, Keith, and I loved the quotes.
   More of us had better start speaking up in the same vein as Ghandi. Did you read Thomas Friedman’s NYT column this past week on the disappearance of the “we” in American society? If we hope to restore the American “we,” we need to speak up now against the mindless vitriol that passes, especially on cable news networks, as news analysis and dialogue.

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3. Melinda Ennis says:

   October 3, 2009 at 9:26 am

   Thank you for this Keith. It is indeed hard to imagine Gandhi in today’s world. Somewhere during the last 50 years, compassion for others and a concern about the greater good became out of fashion. It is all about the greater “I.”
   I was also reminded of this when watching Ken Burns wonderful special this week about our National Parks.
   Now there is something “the government” really screwed up—-they actually protected millions of acres of gorgeous landscapes from the hands of developers and individual land owners so that all of our citizens, rich and poor, could share in our nation’s greatest glories. I wept several times during the special realizing that it could never happen today. Limbaugh, Hannity, Bortz and crew would be screaming about “government” take- over of private lands and we would have had condos under the waterfalls at Yosemite. The great philanthropist John D. Rockefeller (who proved that being rich doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be a selfish asshole) actually bought up most of the land around Jackson Hole, Wyoming just so he could donate it back to the government for a national park. Several years ago, thanks to him, I stood with my kids at the top of Grand Teton National Park and did not have to have a $5million condo in Jackson Hole to enjoy one of the greatest views God created. Where are these guys now when we need them the most????

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4. marilynn larew says:

   October 3, 2009 at 9:53 am

   Well done, Keith.

   Speaking as a historian who has dealt with the history of violence, revolution, and terrorism since early times, I can say that the world has always been a nasty and violent place. The Gandhis of history are rare individuals and must be remembered, cherished, and imitated. Today is a good day to start.

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5. jingle davis says:

   October 3, 2009 at 12:35 pm

   lovely piece, keith, as always.

   Reply
6. Brenden says:

   October 5, 2009 at 1:18 pm

   What would Ghandi think of a vast expansion of an inefficient bloated debt-ridden entitlement state? “Indolence is a delightful but distressing state; we must be doing something to be happy.” A wise man indeed.

   Angry left monomania on Fox News really makes me think that they must be onto something over there. I thought this site was supposed to be a celebration of journalism by other means. Well, that’s what they’re doing: introducing conventional conservative bias to counterbalance all the conventional leftist bias of CNN, ABC, NYT, AJC, etc. Their voice is a welcome addition to the reporting spectrum and their ratings reflect that. But you have to call them racists, “intolerant” or hate-mongers or whatever to discount the facts they report against your dear leaders. I don’t go telling all my buddies to watch Glenn Beck, but I’ll give him his journalistic due for Van Jones and Fox’s justifiable reporting on concerns about ACORN. Because, as we have seen, CNN, ABC, NYT, AJC, etc., don’t care what they do as long as they support Obama. What you all need to ask yourselves is why is Fox News so popular, much more so than CNN or any other TV news network. If you want to stick to your comfortable old chestnuts about how the U.S. is just a racist country, well, don’t expect folks on the other side to take you seriously at all. You’re the ones increasing the cultural divisiveness by dismissing political opposion as heretical and therefore invalid.

   You keep writing articles about “why can’t we get our liberal message across to shout down the tea-baggers?” Well, the answer most people in the country don’t want gov’t power expanded any more than it already is. Gov’t spending as a percentage of GDP is approaching 50% and yet you all still post here day after day a tired list of problems that the gov’t still must solve for you. I am pleased that Americans in large numbers across demographic lines passionately resist your efforts to emote away our tax dollars. And the mainstream conservative line is not eliminate gov’t. That’s just more worthless angry left hyperbole to discredit conservatives yet again because you have no real counter-arguments to advance. No, what conservatives what is sustainable gov’t, with balanced budgets and protection of Constitutional liberties and the limits on central gov’t power implied by those same liberties. Now I can hear your fingers slipping off the drool-covered B, U, S and H keys on your computers — but many conservatives did not support him on steel tarrifs, increasing Medicare’s insolvency, and general leftist spending appeasement strategy. But every time the angry left and their lapdog media outlets try to foist another Obama upon us to create more useless bureaucracy, undermine private property rights and make the country less economically competitive … well, expect to get an earful. You don’t have to like it, but at least try to resist your petulant urges to bleat “racist.” When everyone’s a racist, then no one is.

   Reply