In thinking about the possible implications of this new “law” and my own commitment to non-violent resistance, I reread Gandhi’s words to his fellows in a mass meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa. In speaking of the oath that they were about to take, he explained the nature of their commitment.
A few words as to the consequences. We may have to go to jail, where we may be insulted. We may have to go hungry and suffer extreme heat or cold. Hard labor may be imposed upon us. We may be flogged by rude warders. We may be fined heavily and our property may be attached and held up to auction if there are only a few resisters left. Opulent today we may be reduced to abject poverty tomorrow. We may be deported. Suffering from starvation and similar hardships in jail, some of may fall ill and even die . . . But I can boldly declare, and with certainty, that so long as there is even a handful of men true to their pledge, there can only be one end to the struggle, and that is victory (excerpted from Gandhi and the Unspeakable: His Final Experiment with Truth, by James W. Douglas, 2012).
Who among us is willing to suffer, even to die, in non-violent resistance to this or any other deeply unjust, undemocratic, unconstitutional “law”?
As Judge Napolitano notes in this video: “Keeping our elected officials safe is entirely different from insulating them from protest.”
