Landmines distinguish themselves because once they have been sown, once the soldier walks away from the weapon, the landmine cannot tell the difference between a soldier or a civilian - a woman, a child, a grandmother going out to collect firewood to make the family meal.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the indiscriminate nature of landmines and the tragedies they cause to innocent lives.
Jody Williams emphasizes the tragic reality of landmines, which do not differentiate between combatants and non-combatants. Once set, these weapons pose a persistent threat, potentially endangering civilians like women and children, thereby illustrating a broader commentary on the consequences of war and the indiscriminate suffering it inflicts on society.
In practice
In a speech about the impact of war on civilians, this quote can highlight the ongoing dangers posed by unexploded ordnance.
I think there’s a mythology that if you want to change the world, you have to be sainted, like Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandela or Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Ordinary people with lives that go up and down and around in circles can still contribute to change.
I believe that worrying about the problems plaguing our planet without taking steps to confront them is absolutely irrelevant. The only thing that changes this world is taking action.
Guns go home with the soldiers, but landmines are designed to kill - mindlessly, out of control, for years.
What I consider to be peace [is] a sustainable peace in which the majority of people on this planet have access to enough resources to live dignified lives.
And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe._x000D_ _x000D_ And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot;_x000D_ _x000D_ And thereby hangs a tale.
The noir hero is a knight in blood caked armor. He's dirty and he does his best to deny the fact that he's a hero the whole time.
Insects sting, not from malice, but because they want to live. It is the same with critics; they desire our blood not our pain.
One sometimes feels a guest of one's time and not a member of its household.
"Let there be no inscription upon my tomb. Let no man write my epitaph. No man can write my epitaph. I am here ready to die. I am not allowed to vindicate my character; and when I am prevented from vindicating myself, let no man dare calumniate me. Let my character and motives repose in obscurity and peace, till other times and other men can do them justice.
What you yourself hate, don't do to your neighbor. This is the whole law; the rest is commentary. Go and study.
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