Dorothy Day's work with the poor and homeless is connected to her pacifism, because dealing with problems peacefully and caring for the less fortunate are both part of a Christian's calling in his or her imitation of Christ. Christ was peaceful even during the torture He endured leading up to His death, and He had special love for the poor. Day quotes Christ when she says, "You know not of what spirit you are. The Son of Man came not to destroy souls but to save" ("Dorothy Day on the Atom" 1-2). The Christian spirit is one of peace and charity. When considered simply, standing for peace is really the same as standing for love and care of others.
Sara K. Smith
It seems to me that Dorothy Day's position is based firmly on Christ-like love and is supported by Scripture. However, her words seem to me to be only proving the other side wrong, and not supplying her own view on the circumstances at hand. In other words, it is all well and good to disapprove strongly of such atrocites as the mass murder that the A-bomb enacts, but that does nothing to address the reality of the war that we were engaged in at that point and the complexities involved. Her heavily ad hominem attacks against President Truman perhaps have good intention and foundation, but they seem more like fruitless finger-wagging to me rather than productively suggesting a tangible, less violent solution to the difficult situation our country faced. It is true indeed that we must love our enemies, but that does not mean allow them to do as they please. It's like the difference we talked about in class between pacifists and non-violent resistors. Perhaps Dorothy Day was a non-violent resistor in her time, but to me at least these writings seem rather to be coming from a pacifist.
ReplyDeleteI think that Dorothy Days work with the poor and homeless is connected to her pacifism because of the strong position and statement she makes about war and what Jesus would say about the atomic bomb. Dorothy Day devoted her life to Jesus and did so by acting as Jesus had. She works with those who are in need and she gives herself to anyone who needs help. Day believes that all humans are equal (as Jesus believed) and that we should be welcoming to all walks of life. In Dorothy Days statement regarding the bombing of Hirosima, she expresses anger and disappointment for all those who participated in the creation of the atomic bomb along with the president who gave the order to drop the bomb. She makes it clear that to live a holy life as Jesus had, you must not act on violence and you should aim for peace. Dorothy day believes that avoiding war and violence at all cost is the best way to resolve problems and to generate peace between people especially when innocent people are being hurt. Day quotes the Bible saying, “You know not of what spirit you are. The Son of Man came not to destroy souls but to save”. Day uses this quote from the Bible in order to emphasize Jesus’ mission to save the human soul and to teach humanity how to be whole. Day believes that by creating war and violence, we are reverting back to our old “inhumane” ways before the incarnation. Dorothy Days compassion and love for all people is connected to her pacifism because she believes and acts the way the Christ did and Christ acting in peace and love.
ReplyDelete-Nicole Dillon
In "Our Country Passes from Undeclared to Declared War," Dorothy Day speaks of how war is against the laws of God. She believes that pacifism is all about love and being peacemakers. For example, "the words of Christ..."love your enemies, do good to those who hate you."" And also "let us remember St. Francis, who spoke of peace." (The Catholic Worker, Jan. 1942, 1, 4) Day's proposal to end war is simply to pray and "cry for forgiveness, mercy and deliverance for all." (The Catholic Worker, Jan 1942, 1, 4) Then in her article "Dorothy Day on the Atom Bomb at Hiroshima," Day continues to retain her pacifist beliefs and describes the horror of the killing of 318,000 Japanese. She offers so much criticism of President Truman, the scientists, and everyone who turns to the Vatican; however, she does not propose a single correct solution to the War in this article.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe Dorothy Day is correct in proclaiming that war is wrong and should not be sought or celebrated. However, the entire idea of pacifism sickens me, because then no one would be standing up for what is right. I believe in actions, not words.
~Caitlin Gorecki
I just keep thinking about St. Francis' saying to preach the gospel and use words if necessary. I feel that Dorothy Day lacks only this to be convincing (to me at least) in her message of peace. Yes, I concede that the war was terrible and that dropping a bomb on Hiroshima was horrendous. However, as Caitlin said, Day doesn't seem to provide an alternative to solving the conflict between the U.S., Germany, Italy, and Japan. If Dorothy Day is the best example of pacifism, then I'm not convinced it's the best option for a nation in a time of crisis.
ReplyDelete-Sophia Pileggi
I think that Dorthy Days work with the poor and homeless is connected to her pacifism. In 'Dorothy Day on the Atom Bomb at Hiroshima' article she constantly addresses the wrongful actions of President truman for lacking remorse, for killing 318,000 japanese people. she also questions Truman's character as a human being. Dorthy Day displays her pacifism by assessing the issue strictly as a negative event , instead of sharing her personal beliefs and purposing a solution.
ReplyDeleteDorothy Day’s work is definitely connected to her pacifism. She spends her time caring for these people in a peaceful way, and she also preaches peace instead of violence. These actions reflect her thoughts- she writes that she thinks the scientists who helped to engineer the atomic bomb dropped on Japan are simply “murderers.” This line in itself explains how her views are centered on peace than harming others for the war effort. Day’s reasoning for believing and acting this way is clearly stated as she backs up her thoughts with how Jesus reacted to disciples’ comments and the Sermon on the Mount. In addition, I appreciate that she acknowledged that others may not believe in these same values. In this way the reader can tell that this is a plea relevant to her time. However, as an argument, I agree with other comments above; Day did not do a thorough enough job convincing me that there is a better way to go about fighting the forces that were around at the time. She clearly follows pacifism and gave information about caring for the poor and hungry, but she did not state what to do about the war except to refrain from engaging. Therefore, the effectiveness of her argument was not great but her point of view is clearly understood from the texts.
ReplyDelete-Tori McAllister
I think in life it is very hard to decide what the"right" thing to do is. At all times we have to think about what we think we should do, what would make our parents proud, and most importantly what would make God proud. Dorothy Day states that "But still we can repeat Christ's words, each day, holding them close to our hearts, each month printing them in the paper". She believes that Christ is always with us and we should always do what Christ would do. She understands pacifism and how she puts others first; like caring for the poor. She would refrain from war because that is what Christ would want her to do.
ReplyDelete-Lindsey Ritter
As many others have stated, things that occur in life cannot be considered just right or wrong. Things are not black and white in life and war is the biggest example of this. We all want to do the right thing in life and please ourselves and others. Dorothy Day believes that war can be avoided if we sound the words of God in our hearts and it will help lead us to do the right thing. Day would believe in Civil disobedience and non-violent resistance as a reaction to things and the idea of nuclear weapons would make her heart stop. This is a great way to feel and I agree with Day but I doubt the world would ever work this way because people have been violent since the dawn of time. Look at Titus Andronicus.
ReplyDelete-Tara Costello
Dorothy Day's work has many connections, an example her pacifism. Her work is mainly about helping the people who are poor and homeless and less fortunate. Day is one who is against violence and only preaches peace and happiness. While reading this the letters WWJD came to my mind because Dorothy Day was one who thinks that we should do what Christ would do.
ReplyDelete-mary vogt
Dorothy Day illustrated her great temperance and non-violent position through her many charitable acts. She spoke out agianst warfare and any exmaple of nuclear destruction. It disturbed her to see how people could find joy or success in creating such destruction, hurt, and death among other people of God. Day used scripture to further support her perception on a peaceful resolution to warfare, stating that Christ would not allow or encourage such behavior from us. She was a powerfully religious woman who stood against those who committed acts opposed by that of Christ as well as exemplified within the holy texts.
ReplyDeleteSamantha Smedley
Although in a few places Dorothy Day claimed that she and those who agreed with her were pacifists; however, from what we learned in class about pacifism and how active she seems to be in stopping war and violence, she doesn't seem to be "passive" much at all. Like the film we watched in class, "The Mission," Dorothy Day is actively fighting against violence, like Fr. Gabriel. She is asking that we all pray as well as speak up for what is right. She makes the solid argument using irony when she compares President Truman to Jesus... Saying we call Jesus the True Son of God as well as True man, but to think of President "True-man" as a "true man" is so far fetched after killing hundreds of Japanese "brothers".
ReplyDelete-Katie Lamb
Dorothy Day successfully incorporates her ideas from her Catholic teaching along with her social concerns. Unlike many people who remove God from their daily life and restrict him to Sunday morning worship, Dorothy Day uses her faith to challenge our country's actions when it comes to war and other issues of social injustice. She is an example of someone who thinks and lives her faith and inspires others to do the same.
ReplyDelete-Carolyn Spero
I found these readings to be very interesting. Dorothy Day focused mainly on the preaching and fulfillment of the Gospel. She speaks out by urging others to join her in gaining their voices: "Shall we keep silent or shall we speak?" (The Catholic Worker '42, pg 1) Dorothy Day understands that she cannot just sit back and allow the horrors of the modern world to unfold. She stands up and urges others to "repeat Christ's words, every day, holding them close in our hearts." (The Catholic Worker, '42 pg 1) Through Day's pacifism, she seeks to become a peacemaker through her prayers, almsgiving, fasting, and penance. I agree with Day's view, that the world can change with the influence of a few people. If those people pray and preach the Gospel, the word will spread, and maybe will will be able to live in a world with less tragedies. For "The Son of Man came not to destroy souls, but to save." (The Catholic Worker '45, pg 1-2) It is our duty, as Day instructs, to follow Christ's works, by seeking salvation for all.
ReplyDelete-Elisabeth O'Toole
The human ability to feel detached is remarkable. It is this feeling which allowed the American to witness the bombings of Hiroshima. It is this same feeling which enabled us to continue with our daily life after the earthquakes in Japan. While certainly not an excuse for the actions taken against Japan in 1945, it is important to understand that this ability helped to push them forward. It is detachment which can bring man into action, forgetting to be halted by questions of consequence. Attempting to overcome this tendency would perhaps create a world Dorothy Day would be content with. Dorothy does do something of this nature, reminding us of the consequences of violence. Human life must always be revered, and she brings this to the forefront. While she does not present any other possible lines of action the US could have taken, her argument still shines brightly: “we have created destruction”
ReplyDeleteI was a little confused by the question in the syllabus, 'Is Dorothy Day’s work with the poor and homeless connected to her pacifism? If so, how? If not, why not?' The only connected information I found in her writings was to say that we should perform acts of charity, which sometimes may take us into the middle of war (which it was understood that we would not be participating in). That was the only connection I could find... maybe I have the wrong question, or maybe I'm just not getting it. This was probably the least insightful blog post of all time. Oh well. Hopefully next time I'll be less confused!
ReplyDeleteChelsey Sterling
Regarding the original question, I don't feel as though any work that Dorothy Day has had with the homeless connected to her pacifist writing. Her work with the poor involves a crucial element that general pacifism lacks: physical initiative. Although she does write very opinionated viewpoints on WWII, "we will not participate in armed warfare or in making munitions or by buying government bonds to prosecute the war," she does nothing to aid the innocent people on the other side of enemy lines other than praying for them (The Catholic Worker). Whether you take physical action help the poor or innocent or turning the other cheek to actions of those you oppose, you are also directing the actions to Jesus: "What you do unto the least of these my brethren, you do unto me" (Dorothy Day). One must therefore, take literal initiative in order to serve God's plan, such as aiding the poor and homeless, instead of passively looking away or doing nothing.
ReplyDelete-Jay Garrick
I think that Dorothy Day has good intentions as she strives to create peace, but she forgets something very crucial: that in order to establish peace, justice first must be achieved. I agree with some of her points about the outrageous effects of the atomic bombs, especially on innocent civilians, but I also feel that those oppressed by World War II deserved to be liberated. The Central Powers were not willing to halt their seige of control and brutal treatment of human beings. A mere negotiation would not have been enough to achieve true justice. Though other ways to have ended the war may have been better, I strongly believe that it was necessary, in order to call ourselves true Christians striving for justice in order to attain peace, to engage in this war.
ReplyDeleteI think that pacifism aims at peace. Dorothy Day believes, based on the call to love our enemies at the Sermon on the Mount, that Christians ought to be pacifists in the way that they go about establishing peace. So, prayer and preaching become the tools of bringing about peace, not war.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the question can be raised whether Day's methods are really effective at bringing about peace. Day herself sounds somewhat pessimistic about prayer but remains resilient nonetheless in her methodology. Can peace really be brought about by such means, or is war necessary for establishing peace? We could even question what is meant by peace. Is it merely stability or toloerance or is it more active; i.e, loving one another. The latter, I think, may be impossible.
-Caleb Capozella
Dorothy Day's work with the poor and homeless does not connect to her pacifism. A pacifist in my eyes, is a person who will not fight, whether violently or peacefully, for what the believe in or stand for. Dorothy Day is not sitting on the sidelines when it comes to helping these people in unfortunate circumstances. She's is very active in her plight for aid for the poor and homeless. She is praying, sending letters, almsgiving, and fasting to support the cause that she is fighting to end. Notice how I said "fighting". She isn't waiting for someone to fix the situation for her. Day is a pacifist when it comes to war but she is not a pacifist when it comes down to helping others and for fighting for what she believes in a peaceful manner. Just because she is silently fighting doesn't make her a pacifist as she claims. Maybe I interpreted this question incorrectly but I view a pacifist as someone who will let people walk all over him or her and that is definitely not who Dorothy Day is.
ReplyDeleteEmma Leary
In a perfect world, there would never be circumstances that prompt any nation or country to become involved in a war. If this were the case, we could all go about our lives without fear of death and destruction--but we don't live in a perfect world. Even though the definition for a just war is very limiting, and rightly so, sometimes there are cases where war becomes the only option. When all attempts at peace have been made, all nonviolent means of persuasion have been exhausted, and the situation has been thouroughly thought through, I think it is acceptable to turn to war as a last resort. Pacifism is a great idea, but eventually we reach a point where we can no longer afford to do nothing. As British political theorist Edmund Burke once wrote, "evil triumphs when good men do nothing."
ReplyDelete--Kat Hermanson
Dorothy Day's charity for the poor is connected to her pacifism because she is living in Christ's image and following His example. Because of this, I believe that she is leading a very Christian life, and she cannot be put down for these beliefs. However, I do not beleive that it is possible for the entire world to live according to her teachings. There are times, such as WWII, when pacifism simply would not have worked in preserving the lives of innocent people. In order to establish justice for the oppressed, there are times when force must be used.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Dorothy Day's work with the poor and homeless does connect to he pacifism. She spends so much time and energy helping people in need, and she obviously has a great respect for all human life. That is why she is very much against war, and would rather solve conflicts peacefully, using prayer and preaching.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do not believe that real peace can be brought about using only prayer. I believe that war is necessary at certain times.
Tom May
Dorothy Day's position on war and violence seems to come from her deep love of human life as promoted through scripture and doctrine. She constantly reminds people, through her actions and her writings, that Christians should take no part in this war, but rather support the people through caring actions and donations of time and materials that they need. From what I can tell Dorothy Day's work with the poor does not cause her pacifism but rather furthers it in her eyes. I think that she then uses this work as a means to convince others to follow pacifism. She seems to believe that if you work with the downtrodden you will be less inclined to let them become "necessary" victims of war.
ReplyDelete~Nicholas Shields
Dorothy Day's work with the poor and homeless connects to her pacifism in many ways. Her work mainly concerns with poor and homeless people. She is against war and violence, and is a good example of someone who lives a faith filled life.
ReplyDelete-Elise Ariens
I believe that Dorothy Days position on war and pacifism has little relevance to her helping the poor and the hungry. However one connection is her overall love for human life. She helps those in need because she wants to see them survive adn things that every life is important similarly to how she disagrees with the bombings. The bombings obviously took precious lives away but I dont really see any serious correlations beyond that. In her arguments she really isnt arguing any point but rather just saying negative things about the president and those in charge of creating and using the bomb.
ReplyDelete-Nicholas Darin
I feel like there are many facets to a person's goodness; in Dorothy Day's case, I don't think that her work with the poor was part of her pacifist stance. Dorothy Day's pacifist view comes from her understanding of Scriptures and the value she placed on human life. Her work with the poor stems from those two factors (Scriptures and a value for human life), but the work with the poor itself is not pacifist. Pacifism involves taking no action, while working with those who are in need involves action. In this case, it can be said that Dorothy Day's pacifism applied to war and other acts of violence, but not to actions that would be beneficial to others.
ReplyDeleteDorothy Day's pacifist role during the war was rooted in her belief in prayer and teaching peaceful ways of compromise. Her position on war is, I believe, connected to her assistance and help of the poor. She chose to commit herself to the betterment of human life, and both of these aspects are reflected in her writings and teachings. She worked to reserve the dignity of human life, and she did this no matter the situation.
ReplyDeletedefinition of a pacifist:
ReplyDelete1. a person who believes in pacifism or is opposed to war or to violence of any kind.
I believe that Dorothy Day is a pacifist because of her views on war, the bombing, and the killing of innocent men, women and children. She believes it is immoral and wrong. Her views on Truman were very insightful and definitely gave me something to think about in her comparison between him and Jesus.
-Kate Shannon
Dorothy Day had a strong belief of peace and demonstrated this through her teachings and prayer. She worked with the poor and homeless people. She is not a pacifist when it comes to war, but when it is in relation to the poor and homeless she is very active. She is not waiting for the problems to be fixed, she is taking a stance and acting on her beliefs. She strongly respects human life. She is against war, because she wants to resolve problems peacefully through teachings and prayers.
ReplyDelete-Katelyn Bockin
Dorothy Day was very serious in her view on war. I think this view was influenced by her love for humankind. Dorothy Day held a pacifist view on the war. As we had discussed in class on Thursday, pacifism is not merely holding a view against war and not doing anything about it but rather holding an active position in ending warfare. She thinks that warfare that is to eventually lead to peace is contradictory and think that praying for peace and preaching about peace are the only ways to bring warfare to an end.
ReplyDeleteDorothy Day lived her life according to how she understood the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Rather than watching violence and poverty from afar, Day actively participated in aiding the world around her. Some people view her actions and opinions as drastic, yet I think she lived as she believed to be the best way possible. All her actions, from helping the poor and opressed to speaking out against war, came from a love for humanity and a sense of solidarity which is highly respectable and honourable. I can't help but to see similarities between her life and the life of St. Francis, both of whom lived in pacifism and solidarity, and who changed the world because of it.
ReplyDelete-Risa Del Eskew