In a world built on violence, one must be a revolutionary before one can be a pacifist.
A. J. MusteRead
There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.
Interpretation
Peace is not a destination but a journey; it is created through our actions and intentions.
A. J. Muste's quote emphasizes that peace should not be viewed as a goal to be achieved in the future, but rather as a process and practice that we engage in through our everyday lives. It reflects the idea that the pursuit of peace involves actively embodying principles of harmony and understanding, rather than merely hoping for a peaceful world without taking initiative to create it.
In practice
In a speech about conflict resolution at a community event.
In a world built on violence, one must be a revolutionary before one can be a pacifist.
We cannot have peace if we are only concerned with peace. War is not an accident. It is the logical outcome of a certain way of life. If we want to attack war, we have to attack that way of life.
There is a certain indolence in us, a wish not to be disturbed, which tempts us to think that when things are quiet, all is well. Subconsciously, we tend to give the preference to 'social peace,' though it be only apparent, because our lives and possessions seem then secure. Actually, human beings acquiesce too easily in evil conditions; they rebel far too little and too seldom. There is nothing noble about acquiescence in a cramped life or mere submission to superior force.
And homeless near a thousand homes I stood, And near a thousand tables pined and wanted food.
There are people who so arrange their lives that they feed themselves only on side dishes.
Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing.
Whoever has lived long enough to find out what life is, knows how deep a debt of gratitude we owe to Adam, the first great benefactor of our race. He brought death into the world.
For an adult, the world is constantly trying to clamp down on itself. Routine, responsibility, decay of institutions, corruption: this is all the world closing in.
Christmas is God lighting a candle; and you don't light a candle in a room that's already full of sunlight. You light a candle in a room that's so murky that the candle, when lit, reveals just how bad things really are.
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