Violence Spirals

As I was reading a post by my friend Mark Holland, he put his finger upon something that has been disturbing me in a sort of subconscious sort of way. Each time I hear someone make the case that teachers in Newtown should have been armed, or that teachers now should be armed, it would not sit well in my spirit. But I could not articulate well as to why this is. I would think of Jesus' teachings on forgiveness, and turning the other cheek, but I still was not satisfied.

Today, Mark posted a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. and when I read it, I thought "yes, this is what has been churning in my mind, that I could not quite articulate. Thanks Mark.

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, 
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. 
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar, 
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. 
Through violence you may murder the hater, 
but you do not murder hate. 
In fact, violence merely increases hate. 
So it goes. 
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, 
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. 
Darkness cannot drive out darkness: 
only light can do that. 
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.