The Positive Power of Tension (or, Tension Brings Attention)

    Dr. Martin Luther King in his letter says, "This may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word 'tension'" (King 2). Normally, tension is perceived as a negative force that only serves to strain people and their relationships. However, within this letter Dr. King provides a use for tension analogous to Nash's Freedom Dreaming. It forces people to acknowledge suffering and seek a way of redress. It reckons oppression while utilizing it as a stepping stone to propel communities to better harmony and understanding. Importantly, tension brings attention. Dr. King advocates for a nonviolent tension that will force white people to recognize their racism and learn to change.

    In the beginning of his letter, Dr. King laments that these protests in Birmingham have to occur at all. He agrees with his dissenters. However, he reveals that "I am sorry that your statement did not express a similar concern for the conditions that brought the demonstrations into being" (King 1). The tension points to the existence of deep seeded racism within Birmingham. Without the protestors various demonstrations, the ruling class would have no charge to investigate Birmingham's political-cultural structure. Notably, the protests did not incite any new tension. The tension already existed for the citizens, and it was felt more acutely by the subjugated black population. Instead, the marches and sit ins clarified and shifted the tension so that those in power must reckon with it in some way. For King, the re-contextualized tension inspires the needed negotiation. Dr. King writes that the administration will only act if prodded to do so.

    Later on, King introduces the idea of a negative peace. For King, the most lamentable person is someone who "who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice" (King 3). We can characterize negative peace through Khanna's description of visceral feelings. It is the naive suppression, rather than the purposeful acknowledgement, of our instinctive reactions to this social stimuli. Instead of seeking to see why people may feel appalled or look away uncomfortably, it is encouraged to sweep it under the rug and ignore the suffering of others. Through tension however, these same citizens become aware of these ingrained reactions and are forced to make some conscious choice about this behavior. While tension does not give those an inclination towards a healing or positive choice, it forces those neutral people in a negative peace to witness their actions and move out of uncomfortable silence.

    In terms of Kolvenbach's conference review, he noted that GC 32 opened his eyes to otherwise invisible suffering. Like King, the conference shifted the tension so it was acknowledged by all present Jesuits instead of a niche group. The conference used the phrase "the service of faith and the promotion of justice" (Kolvenbach 25) to force action onto every attendant. He describes the Human Development Report as a "haunting challenge" (Kolvenbach 33) to witness and learn the subjugation and mistreatment of people living in this microchip world. When confronted with the facts and statitistics therein, those concerned can better easily and assuredly walk on the path of justice. He asserts that "Students, in the course of their formation, must let the gritty reality of this world into their lives, so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, respond to its suffering and engage it constructively" (Kolvenbach 35). Kolvenbach believes that in order for positive growth students must confront and wrestle with the world's "gritty reality". Sheltering from this suffering of others leads to no progress. It is only with tension can we see the need to move forward. To ignore or to suppress this tension is to neglect the existence of suffering that plague so many people.