Moral Injury and Nonviolent Resistance

Overview

In this thoughtful book culled from a wide range of experiences, Alice and Staughton Lynd introduce readers to what modern clinicians, philosophers, and theologians have attempted to describe as "moral injury." From combat veterans of America's foreign wars to Israeli refuseniks, and from "hardened" criminals in supermax confinement in Ohio to hunger strikers in California's Pelican Bay prison, the Lynds give us the voices of those breaking the cycle of moral injury with courageous acts of nonviolent resistance.

Reviews

"The concept of 'moral injury,' so powerfully outlined and then enriched through elegant choreography of data, personal anecdotes, and medical definitions, brings us all some solace." —Doug Rawlings, cofounder, Veterans for Peace, Vietnam veteran

"An emotionally difficult read that will gnaw at your value system, jerk at your humanity, and light a fire under you to take action. This book tears down the prevailing societal scaffolding which reveres war and violence, and with oh-so-gentle hands reconstructs a future built with the utmost respect for the individual, unwavering wisdom of collective nonviolent action, and dogged demand for accountability. Break the cycle of violence before it breaks us all!" —Sam Bahour, coeditor with Staughton and Alice Lynd, Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians

"This book links the damage done to soldiers and prisoners: the complex ways in which our society uses and abuses the generations we should be empowering rather than destroying. It is a must read for anyone concerned about survival with integrity." —Margaret Randall, author, Haydée Santamaría, Cuban Revolutionary: She Led by Transgression

"Society commemorates wars but tends to forget its veterans, who often return home plagued by shame and guilt for killing; many prisoners also carry the weight of their violent actions and the Lynds do a remarkable job in connecting the struggles of the two without equating them." —Carl Mirra, associate professor, Adelphi University, Marine Corps resister and author, Soldier and Citizens: An Oral History of Operation Iraqi Freedom from the Battlefield to the Pentagon

"Staughton and Alice Lynd have accompanied today's executioners and victims, the soldiers and prisoners of today's empire, on and off death row, in and out of court, by law and by direct action. With decades of experience, courage, patience, and intelligence they listen, learn, and record individual human beings in the belly of the beast who struggle to forgive and to resist. The collaboration results in the highest human faculty of moral reasoning that promises to link the individual, suffering human conscience to restored humanity. Empire cannot withstand even the hint, much less the fulfillment of such promise!" —Peter Linebaugh, author, The Magna Carta Manifesto and Stop, Thief!

"The credentials of authors Alice and Staughton Lynd as two of the 20th century's most acclaimed social reformers are reason enough to give serious consideration to this book." —J. Lembcke, CHOICE

"This book continues the remarkable contribution the Lynds have made to the study of nonviolence. It could not be more timely or thought-provoking as we contemplate the repercussions of warmongering rhetoric and the empowerment of white nationalists in the United States." —R. L. Updegrove, Peace & Change

Author Biography

Alice Lynd is the author of We Won't Go: Personal Accounts of War Objectors. Staughton Lynd is a historian, lawyer, activist, and author of many books and articles.