Gaza is going to test who believes in the worth of human beings.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the importance of recognizing and valuing human dignity in challenging times.
Desmond Tutu's quote reflects the idea that moments of crisis, such as those faced in Gaza, serve as a litmus test for humanity. It challenges us to evaluate our commitment to human rights and the intrinsic value of all individuals, revealing whether we truly understand and uphold the worth of every human being regardless of their circumstances.
In practice
During a speech about social justice, a leader could quote this to emphasize the importance of human dignity.
The fossil reserves that have already been discovered exceed what can ever be safely used. Yet companies spend half a trillion dollars each year searching for more fuel. They should redirect this money toward developing clean energy solutions
As much as the world has an instinct for evil and is a breeding ground for genocide, holocaust, slavery, racism, war, oppression, and injustice, the world has an even greateer instinct for goodness, rebirth, mercy, beauty, truth, freedom and love.
When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.
Children are a wonderful gift. They have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are.
Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone's back.
Where we come from does not determine who we can become. What we look like places no limits on what we can achieve. We should all have the right to express ourselves, all have the right to be heard, all have the right to be what we can be: To reach for the sky and touch the stars. No matter who we are, no matter whether we are man or woman, or rich or poor: _x000D_ My voice, my right. My voice counts.
We are not without empathetic terror when we open Pascal's 'Pensees' and read, 'I am the great silent spaces between worlds.'
Evolution is not finished; reason is not the last word nor the reasoning animal the supreme figure of Nature. As man emerged out of the animal, so out of man the superman emerges.
We had been hopelessly labouring to plough waste lands; to make nationality grow in a place full of the certainty of Godβ¦ Among the tribes our creed could be only like the desert grass β a beautiful swift seeming of spring; which, after a dayβs heat, fell dusty.
In the matter of a difficult question it is more likely that the truth should have been discovered by the few than by the many.
Beautiful things grow to a certain height and then they fail and fade off, breathing out memories as they decay.
I have no religious belief myself, but I don't think we should fight about it. In particular, I think that we should not rubbish moderate religious leaders like the Archbishop of Canterbury because I think we all agree that extreme fundamentalism is a threat, and we need all the allies we can muster against it.
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