No principle is worth the sacrifice of a single human being.
Daniel BerriganRead
Of course, let us have peace, we cry, "but at the same time let us have normalcy, let us lose nothing, let our lives stand intact, let us know neither prison nor ill repute nor disruption of ties ... " There is no peace because there are no peacemakers. There are no makers of peace because the making of peace is at least as costly as the making of war - at least as exigent, at least as disruptive, at least as liable to bring disgrace and prison, and death in its wake.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True peace requires sacrifice and effort, which many are unwilling to make.
This quote by Daniel Berrigan highlights the paradox of seeking peace while avoiding the costs associated with it. It emphasizes that the creation of peace is not an easy or risk-free endeavor; rather, it demands commitment and courage, often accompanied by personal sacrifice and facing hardships similar to those experienced in war. The quote suggests that without individuals dedicated to truly making peace, society will continue to suffer turmoil and conflict.
Themes
PeaceSacrificeCommitmentConflictEffort
In practice
Example use cases
During a peace rally, this quote may remind participants of the challenges ahead.
More from Daniel Berrigan
All quotes →Instead of building the peace by attacking injustices like starvation, disease, illiteracy, political and economic servitude, we spend a trillion dollars on war since 1946, until hatred and conflict have become the international preoccupation.
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The death of a single human being is too heavy a price for the vindication of any principle, however sacred.
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The God of life summons us to life; more, to be lifegivers, especially toward those who lie under the heel of the powers.
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For my part, I believe that the vain, glorious and the violent will not inherit the earth. . . . In pursuance of that faith my friends and I take the hands of the dying in our hands. And some of us travel to the Pentagon, and others live in the Bowery and serve there, and others speak unpopularly and plainly of the fate of the unborn and of convicted criminals. It is all one.
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Sometime in your life, hope that you might see one starved man, the look on his face when the bread finally arrives. Hope that you might have baked it or bought or even kneaded it yourself. For that look on his face, for your meeting his eyes across a piece of bread, you might be willing to lose a lot, or suffer a lot, or die a little, even.
Daniel BerriganRead
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Peace cannot be built on exclusivism, absolutism, and intolerance. But neither can it be built on vague liberal slogans and pious programs gestated in the smoke of confabulation. There can be no peace on earth without the kind of inner change that brings man back to his "right mind." p. 31
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