The Power of Peaceful Protest

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That we live in violent times is hardly a revelation. The sociopolitical history of Earth is largely a history of violence. The Powers That Be have, since time immemorial, embraced war as a viable solution to differences of opinion.

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That's an oversimplification, of course, but in our current climate of global unrest, we've lost the focus of dissent. Civil disobedience has always been a large thread in the fabric of the American experience, and is largely responsible for the ever-evolving way we view ourselves. The current cultural context, however, has largely eliminated civility from disobedience. Increasingly, regardless of the issue, we turn to violence to make our point. To quote Walt Kelly, "We have seen the enemy, and he is us."

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Investigation of a Flame, by documentary filmmaker Lynne Salks, is a relatively straightforward retrospective about a benign Vietnam War protest by a group of Catholic activists who would become known as the Catonsville Nine. Now almost a footnote in the history of Vietnam-era protest, what happened on 17 May 1968 in the Baltimore suburb of Catonsville remains a powerful reminder of the ultimate power of quiet civil disobedience. Nine people, including two priests and two women, went into a Selective Service office, grabbed several hundred draft files, took them outside and ceremoniously burned them with homemade napalm.

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It seems almost a puerile prank by today's standards of violent opposition to any given social or political agenda. But it was enough to earn all the participants federal prison terms. More importantly, the action served as a springboard inspiration to much of the anti-war protest to follow.

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Investigation of a Flame doesn't romanticize or glamorize the the action of the Nine-- indeed, it painstakingly puts the opposition's viewpoint into the historical context of the event. There are interviews with women who worked in the Selective Service office, who cared less about the politics of the war, but were fully committed to supporting the troops. The prosecutor is interviewed as well, and makes several valid points about social conscience not outweighing the order of law. On the other side of the coin, the interviews with Daniel and Philip Berrigan, and the others involved in the incident, offer compelling evidence that moral conscience can outweigh the dictates of civil law.

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By skillfully intercutting news footage of the time with contemporary interview segments, Sachs has succeeded in presenting a snapshot of sixties history that amply illustrates the dangers of not remembering the mistakes of history. Snippets of news footage from the era ring eerily reminiscent of contemporary political posturing. Lyndon Johnson saying "We will not hand Asia over to the communists" was a "stay the course" policy that proved to be fallacious. Asia has survived, and America is still nursing self-inflicted wounds.

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The power of this film lies in it sense of irony and history. None of the Catonsville Nine were longhaired radicals. At the time, they were middle-aged respected members of society acting on principles moral indignation. The surviving members of the group make few apologies for their protest. In their seventies and eighties now, they remain unbowed. However displaced their passions may have been in 1968, the drive of their convictions should imbue a sense of patriotism in all Americans.

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By holding the mirror of the past up to us, Lynne Sachs and her film shows us that despite all adversities, the American Spirit ultimately prevails. The current policy in Iraq is a losing proposition, but this too we will survive.

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In the span of forty five minutes, Investigation of a Flame forces us to remember that civil disobedience is a cornerstone of American history. It should also serve as a reminder that in the heart of patriotism is the eternal question of "why?" When we quit questioning the government's motivations, we risk losing all we hold dear.

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