How to deal with terrorism/violence.

I have a miserable, wretched sinus infection that sent me to bed way early last night. The last thing I saw before turning in was the news about Nice, France. Medication put me to sleep fast, though I was thinking about where we go from here as I drifted off.

I know what debate will rage in the media today. A few voices will call for love and peace. The real fight, however, will not be about using peace versus violence to fight terrorism. It will be about whose violence can be most effective at fighting terrorism. It will be about whose response to terrorism can be harshest, the most lethal, the most ruthless.

And the debate will be about “us versus them.” I suppose it will begin with “them” as Islamists. Some people will take it to mean all Muslims. Eventually, some people (as I’ve noticed on Facebook and Twitter) will make President Obama part of “them.” And then Democrats, the French, Pacifists, and on and on.

This will get nobody anywhere.

At around 3 a.m., an idea came to me out of the still of the night.

But before I share the idea with you, one last thought on what happened in Nice: Someone drove a truck through a crowd.

Someone drove a truck through a crowd.

This could happen anytime. Anywhere. It’s not a sophisticated terrorist plot. It’s a person behind the wheel of a truck who decides to veer into a crowd and take out as many people as he or she can. There is nothing elaborate, skillful, and technical about it. There is nothing political or religious about it.

Hundreds of millions of people are driving hundreds of millions of trucks near hundreds of millions of people every day on earth.

What are we going to do about that?

Here’s my point: There is no military solution to this. Nothing the police can do. No political solution. What are we going to do? Ban trucks? Ban crowds?

Our debates about terrorism are a race to the bottom. Everything is a weapon in the hands of someone who intends to do harm.

Every crowd is vulnerable.

And more and more terrorists are not one of “them,” they are one of us. An American with an ax to grind can get behind the wheel of a truck today and kill 84 fellow Americans. There is nothing Muslim about that. There is no connection to ISIS or some shadowy international terror network.

Are there Americans with axes to grind out there?

Yes. I hear from them several times a day on my Facebook page.

Judging by some of the debates I’ve had on Facebook, I might just be one of them.

So what are we to do?

Guns are not the solution. Taking away guns is not the solution.

Banning immigrants and refugees is no the solution. Letting them in is not the solution.

Dropping bombs with drones and sending the SEALs to assassinate terrorists is not the solution. Leaving terrorists alone is not the solution.

Voting Republican (and letting everyone know you’re doing it) is not the solution. Voting Democrat is not the solution. Not voting sure as hell is not the solution.

Talking is not the solution. Remaining silent is not the solution.

Cloistering ourselves in our homes until we die is not the solution. Taking a family vacation in Belgium, France, or Turkey is not the solution.

Where do I turn for a solution–for something to do and to tell others to do–in times like these?

Back to my 3 a.m. wake-up call.

As an apprentice and student of Jesus Christ–and here I remind you that apprentices and students are sometimes lousy at it–the solution is never geopolitical or global economics or military. Not to say those things don’t have a place and a role in making the world better. They do.

But what the Christ teaches is for his people. Individuals like me. And for his church when those individuals are in the collective.

I went to bed asking myself: What does the Christ want to teach me to do in a world of so much hate and injustice and violence that threatens our very lives? Does he indeed want me to make war and support those who make war?

And at 3 a.m. I got my answer.

Well, not really. I didn’t find an answer to the question of how to eliminate terrorism. I didn’t find an answer to the question of how to prevent or stop violence. A little reflection on these things leads me to the conclusion that even Jesus Christ is not in a position to end terrorism and violence. He himself was a victim of it and his people have been victims of it through the ages. The Christ offers his people no immunity from terrorism and violence, only grace and peace in the midst of it with the promise of resurrection.

What the Spirit of Christ asked me at 3 a.m. with this: “What if every time random violence strikes down the innocent, you respond with random compassion and kindness for the same number of people?”

If the character of terror is random and sudden attacks on unsuspecting people, the character of grace is random and sudden kindness on the same.

I guess what I’m saying is this: What if Christians (like me) put as much planning and premeditation into surprise compassion and kindness as terrorists put into death and destruction? What if Christians like me weren’t so preoccupied with terrorism because we were already occupied with doing as much kindness to as many unsuspecting strangers as we could?

If Christians (like me) made this an obsession (like terrorists make killing an obsession), I believe we would do more to end terrorism than all of the bombs and guns and police and politicians and spies put together.

Because what the world needs is compassion and kindness so extreme that it reaches those who are on the fence about doing harm.

And it starts on a day like this. At least 84 people are dead in Nice, France, and many more injured. I’m challenging myself today to surprise at least 84 people with kindness today.

You can say it’s silly and small all you want, but I ask: What are you going to do about it today?

Try the Way of the Christ. Try compassion, kindness, and love.

Blessed are the peacemakers.