Salt march to the Dead Sea: Gandhi's Palestinian reincarnation—By David Dean Shulman (Harper's Magazine)

Salt march to the Dead Sea: Gandhi's Palestinian reincarnation—By David Dean Shulman (Harper's Magazine)

Today, I ran into two interestingly opposing ideas. The first was part of a National Public Radio report on the impact of tobacco on the health of people in developing countries. One of the people interviewed, responding to a comment that pressure should be put on tobacco growers in developing countries, defended those that grow tobacco. I can't quote him directly, but in essence, he said, "If there is no law against it, then why should they not pursue a living by growing tobacco."

It is an interestingly amoral position that I have heard others--including American free marketers--take. I was left wondering why it is that we have abandoned personal morality in today's economy: if I am not breaking a law, then don't tell me not to do something. It left me a bit saddened.

Then, this afternoon, as I was watching supper cook on the grill, I read "Salt March to the Dead Sea," a commentary about the impact of Mahatma Gandhi on today's Palestinians. David Shulman noted that Nehru summarized Gandi's principles as follows: "Fearlessness and truth, and action allied to these," adding:

"'Action' meant deliberately breaking an immoral law, en masse, with an eye to the symbolic effect of disobedience: 'You assist an evil system most effectively by obeying its orders and decrees,' said Gandhi. The goal was never merely to undermine the system but also, crucially, to change the hearts and minds of one's opponents--in effect, to humanize them. To this end, one must never meet violence with violence."

That inspired me, but it also left me wondering: What does one do when there is no law to disobey? How do we fight an amoral system that uses the LACK of laws to justify its selfish actions? This, it seems, is a critical issue in a system where deregulation is seen as a public good and where executives and politicians alike see amorality in the face of profit as a private good.

Perhaps the Gandhian thing to do in this situation is simply to shun companies that pursue profit through amoral, if not immoral action. Perhaps, nonviolent action in this case means that we turn our backs on companies that put profit above the public good and encourage others to do the same. In a consumer society, this will take some fearlessness, as well.