Darkwing and Pacifism

Today I finished listening to a book called, "Amish Grace". It’s about why the Amish forgave the shooter in the massacre of their children at a schoolhouse. That was interesting enough and answered some questions I have on the basis of that forgiveness. But it also mentioned, a related but not identical topic, Amish pacifism. And that got me thinking about the pacifists in my short novel, "Darkwing". I didn’t set out to explore pacifism but I have always been interested in it. Something did surprise me. I don’t think of the Amish or the Quakers (who I have some personal familiarity with) or the religious group in my book as a cult but that’s the comment I got on the book initially. It never occurred to me, in fact, because there was no charismatic leader anymore than there is in either of the real groups and they govern themselves mostly by consensus or council. But I can’t control the reactions of my readers, who don’t have the preconceptions or even the knowledge I have. So, the burden is on me to show that the conflict is not between a cult and a member trying to get away, but about a philosophy that has some merit and two young people deciding they don’t completely buy into it. It’s not mind control but knowing of your own mind. One thing about readers is that you get to realize what your preconceptions are. Mine might be on the unusual side. The trick is to get the readers to come to the same place that you do, by whatever means necessary as the saying goes.