Roy Prockter

Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, self employed, Essex - Sadly died in 2014

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Statement:

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"For me, war is just plain wrong - it would still be wrong if it worked, but it doesn’t even work as a means of solving conflicts. The reason war is wrong is that it involves killing, and for me, “thou shalt not kill” means exactly that.

 

Conflicts are inevitable, but can be and have to be solved peacefully; agreement is always possible if justice and not narrow self interest is the primary goal and the process is approached with goodwill by all parties, that goodwill is often lacking following the imposition of unjust conditions after a previous armed conflict, which so often result in

resentment from the injustice and simply ferments the next armed conflict, maybe decades or even centuries later and the cycle of violence continues."

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Even without an armed conflict to start them off, injustices, including economic injustices, lead to resentment, and resentment eventually leads to conflict - and without the means for peaceful resolution those conflicts boil up into armed struggles.

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One such injustice is that clean water and basic healthcare could be available to everyone on the planet for the cost of just one weeks armament spending, but governments will not stop buying armaments for long enough to create a world order that would remove the need or place for armaments.

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I did not become a pacifist because it is an easy option or because I am weak, in fact becoming pacifist has probably made me stronger. I’ve done all the demos, written to MPs, prayed for peace - and then they sent me a bill for some tax - realizing that this was effectively part of the proportion they would spend on war and preparing for war I just could not bring myself to write a cheque - I’d be paying the murderer - killing is murder even if those in power pass a law that says otherwise - and paying a murderer to murder is committing that murder yourself - there is another law that says that.

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I have come to these views from a variety of influences, including that of parenthood, and when I started going to Quaker meetings I immediately felt that I belonged there. So I want the law changed so that I can support peaceful means of conflict resolution and not be forced to murder my fellow beings by paying the murderer.

It really is that straightforward.'