Confederate draftee Chris Good, 1861. Sent into combat; would not fire his rifle. Warned by officer to fight or "take the consequences." Refused. "I didn't see anything to shoot at." "Didn't you see all those Yankees?" "I didn't see any Yankees. I saw people. And where I come from we don't shoot at people."
Malediction: common today, yet we're afraid to speak because of fear of malediction. Malediction defines the person with or of whom we speak as less than human. This eventually can lead to a climate of fear and violence as in Belfast.
DB note: We need to distinguish between "violence" & "force." "Violence" is that which leads to a climate of fear. "Force" is that which may be necessary to enFORCE justice.
Interaction with director of day-care center at his church on the day after Election Day. Verbal explosion of maledictions, when he told her that he had voted for John Kerry.
A visit to a pub in Northern Ireland. Tried to strike up a political conversation; was told "you can't talk about that here! This is a pub!" (meaning, "It's not safe. You could be shot.")
DB note: True democracy is when we do not fear to speak; see Sen 2003. Do we have true democracy in the USA?
Antidote for malediction is benediction. St Francis: "When you speak peace with your lips, make sure you have it in your hearts."