Home > Quotes > Peace & Disarmament

Peace is the universal wish of humankind. But where is the key to peace to be found? The American peace scholar Elise Boulding once remarked to me that peace is not only about taking action in times of danger, it is also about assisting each other in daily life, and that the family and the local community are key starting points. Peace, in other words, is not some distant dream, but a reality that starts where we are right now. Elise always made a point of getting to know her neighbors, because when people know each other, they are more likely to help and assist each other. This is where peace begins.

War normalizes insanity--the kind that does not hesitate to annihilate human beings like so many insects, and tears all that is human and humane to shreds, that destroys nature itself.
One person inspiring another, transcending all differences—this is the basis of changing society at the most fundamental level.
Our world continues to be threatened by more than 20,000 nuclear warheads–the capacity to kill or grievously injure all people living on Earth, and to destroy the global ecosystem many times over. We are impelled to ask what it is, exactly, that is being protected by this unimaginable destructive capacity. More
Sincerity is the key to transforming distrust into trust, hostility into understanding, and hatred into compassion. Friendship and trust are indispensible to true peace, and they cannot be cultivated strategically.
Nuclear weapons, which jeopardize the very existence of humanity, epitomize the tragic truth that our development as human beings has not kept pace with our scientific advances.
All human endeavors must have as their point of origin a concern for people’s welfare and a desire to contribute to human happiness. Otherwise, the human race will ultimately just continue to stumble aimlessly, from darkness into darkness. More
Each of us, no matter how weak or ineffectual we may feel ourselves to be, must build deep within our hearts a stronghold for peace, one that will be capable of withstanding and in the end silencing the incessant calls to war. This is the only way humanity’s tragic predilection for violence can be reformed and its energies channeled in new directions.

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