The pros and cons, as well as definitions, of the pair “resistance and responsibility” were the focus of this year’s European Forum of the European Tolerance Talks at the Club Carinthia of BKS Bank Vienna. It quickly became clear that there are at least as many different forms of resistance against prevailing injustice as there are misunderstandings in dealing with tyrants, terror, and political extremism.
According to Hannes Swoboda, President of the Board of Trustees of the Tolerance Talks, resistance can arise from a wide variety of reasons – from faith or from a political stance. But complacency can also stem from faith: “There’s a saying: Render unto God what is God’s, and unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. And the emperor is, well, a bad man. In all matters of resistance, however, it should always be about humanity, and not about being absolutely right.”
According to Swoboda, there are no rules governing how resistance arises. A great deal of personal involvement is at play when someone is convinced they must fight against injustice. Or when someone is convinced they possess the truth. “But,” Swoboda continued, “even in resistance, one must know that one doesn’t have a monopoly on the truth and must demonstrate responsibility. Even in resistance, I must act as a human being (not as a machine or a terrorist) and see the opponent as a human being.”
