The controversy surrounding Arun Gandhi has brought attention to the practice and belief of nonviolence. Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, has been a loyal follower of the culture his grandfather embodied throughout his life. The problem with his provocative blog post, then, was not that it espoused his views, to which each person is inherently entitled. That its effects caused division and, in a nature, violence through words and controversy, has led me to believe that the blog should never have been posted.

The practice of nonviolence is truly a beautiful lifestyle — one that all should aspire too. But just because the belief is an ideal does not mean that it is something we should disregard as a practical feature of our lifestyle.

M. K. Gandhi was extraordinary; by this I do not mean that he was inhuman or capable of feats everyone else is incapable of. We can mirror Gandhi’s portrayal of nonviolence by incorporating, bit-by-bit, aspects in accordance with his lifestyle. This is easily attributable to everyday life, for if one is transform his or her thinking by considering how simple situations can be handled nonviolently, then actions will quickly follow.

Those who immediately disregard nonviolence as an impractical, idealist fancy, must consider that their own disregard for the belief system is, excuse the expression, out of ignorance. If only we were to take small steps in its practice, then soon we could remake our world — whether that term applies to your own personal world or a larger space around us — in a nonviolent fashion.

Arun Gandhi was a strong practitioner of nonviolence. One should reconsider denouncing his nature because of one poorly written blog post; such conflict is only more violence added to the world. Of all consequences rooted in his blog post, I believe Arun Gandhi would consider that the worst.