QUTOES
Freedom
the light of freedom cannot be extinguished as long as it is inside of us.
freedom
rings resoundingly in a democracy each time we speak freely.
freedom
stirs the human heart and fear stills it.
That
is the America which stands not in pursuit of an axis of evil, but which is itself
at the axis of hope and faith and peace and freedom.
Department
of Peace
Citizens across the United States are now uniting in a great
cause to establish a Department of Peace, seeking nothing less than the transformation
of our society, to make non-violence an organizing principle, to make war archaic
through creating a paradigm shift in our culture for human development, for economic
and political justice and for violence control.
No
More War
Let us work for a world where someday war becomes archaic.
Let
us today seek to find that place within each of us where dreams are made, where
our highest aspirations take shape. Let us confirm the power of our humanity by
giving architecture and substance to the dreams we have for our nation, so that
the promised land of social and economic justice that is within our dreams will
soon be within our sight.
Peace
"Peace is a civil right which makes other human rights possible. Peace is
a precondition for our existence. Peace permits our continued existence."
Peace
is not just the absence of war, it is the active presence of a capacity for love
and compassion, and reciprocity. It is an awareness that our lives are not to
be lived simply for ourselves through expressing our individuality, but we confirm
the purpose of our lives through the work of expressing our shared sense of community
in a purposeful and practical way; to sustain our own lives we sustain the lives
of others - in family, in a community of neighborhoods called a city, and in a
community of nations called the world.
Poverty
is a weapon of mass destruction. Homelessness is a weapon of mass destruction.
Unemployment is a weapon of mass destruction.
As
citizen-activists the world over merge, they can become an irresistible force
to create peace and protect the planet. From here will come a new movement to
abolish nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction. From here will come
the demand for sustainable communities, for new systems of energy, transportation
and commerce. From here comes the future rushing in on us. How does one acquire
the capacity for active citizenship? The opportunities exist every day...Active
citizenship begins with an envisioning of the desired outcome and a conscious
application of spiritual principles.
I
see an America where the economy works for everyone because everyone is working.
I see a new horizon in this country where there is no such thing as an acceptable
level of unemployment.
It
is time to free ourselves, to jettison our illusions and fears and transform age-old
challenges with new thinking. We can conceive of peace as not simply the absence
of violence but the active presence of the capacity for a higher evolution of
human awareness, of respect, trust, and integrity. Of peace, wherein we all may
tap the infinite capabilities of humanity to transform consciousness and conditions
that impel or compel violence at a personal, group, or national level toward creating
understanding, compassion, and love. We can bring forth new understandings where
peace, not war, becomes inevitable. Can we move from wars to end all wars to peace
to end all war?
If
governments and their leaders, bound by hierarchy and patriarchy, wedded to military
might for legitimacy, fail to grasp the implications of an emerging world consciousness
for cooperation, for peace and for sustainability, they may become irrelevant.
"We're
not locked in to these conditions that degrade the environment, and jeopardize
the future of our children."
"I
hold in my heart that rebellious spirit of youth that demands change."
Joblessness
is a weapon of mass destruction. Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction. Hunger
is a weapon of mass destruction. Poor health care is a weapon of mass destruction.
Poor education is a weapon of mass destruction. Discrimination is a weapon of
mass destruction. Let us abolish such weapons of mass destruction here at home.
Poverty
is a weapon of mass destruction. Joblessness is a weapon of mass destruction,
homelessness, a weapon of mass destruction... racism, a weapon of mass destruction,
fear, a weapon of mass destruction. We must disarm these weapons and renew our
commitment to quality public schools and dedicated teachers and good housing and
quality health care and decent jobs and stronger neighborhoods.
