The country was already too divided to strive for this "third alternative," and, whether or not slavery was one of the prime causes of the Civil War, it made its contribution to creating the feeling which brought on the conflict. In the light of the present intensity of racial feeling in the United States, it can hardly be said that the enforced settlement of the war gave the Negro an equal place in American society or eliminated conflict between the races.
One of the virtues of the method of reconciliation of views in seeking the "third alternative" is that it can be practiced by the individual or a very small group as well as on the national or international scale. James Myers has described its use within the local community in the "informal conference." In such a conference, the person or group desiring to create better understanding or to eliminate conflict between elements of the community calls together, without any publicity, representatives of various interests for a discussion of points of view, with the understanding that there will be no attempt to reach conclusions or arrive at any official decisions. James Myers' experience has indicated that the conferences create an appreciation of the reasons for former divergence of opinion, and a realization of the possibilities of new bases of relationship which have often resulted in easing tensions within the community and in the solution of racial, economic and social conflicts.[137]
Even on the international level, individuals may make some contribution toward the elimination of conflicts, although, in the face of the present emphasis upon nationalism, and the lack of common international values to which appeal may be made, their labors are not apt to be crowned with success. As in all the cases which we have been considering, however, concerned individuals and groups may act in this field because they feel a compulsion to do so, regardless of whether or not their actions are likely to be successful in producing the desired result of reconciliation, and the discovery of the third alternative.[138]
FOOTNOTES:
[130] Eric Heyman, The Pacifist Dilemma (Banbury, England: Friends' Peace Committee, 1941), 11-12.
[131] Carl Heath, "The Third Alternative" in Heard, et al., The New Pacifism, 102.
[132] D. Elton Trueblood, "The Quaker Method of Reaching Decisions" in Laughlin, Beyond Dilemmas, 119.
[133] Douglas V. Steere, "Introduction" to Laughlin, Beyond Dilemmas, 18.
[134] M. P. Follett, Creative Experience (New York: Longmans, Green, 1924), 209.
[135] Quoted in Allen, Fight for Peace, 428.