The methods of peace propaganda which aim at establishing peace doctrine by argument and by creating a feeling favorable to peace in general seem to fall short of reaching the springs of human action and of dealing with the causes of the conduct which they seek to modify.
Interpretation
Peace propaganda often fails because it doesn't address the deep-rooted causes of conflict.
Elihu Root suggests that while peace propaganda aims to promote peace through argument and positive sentiment, it often fails to address the fundamental motivations behind human behavior. This indicates that merely advocating for peace without understanding or addressing the underlying issues that lead to conflict may not be effective in achieving true peace.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech about the effectiveness of peace initiatives.
To deal with the true causes of war one must begin by recognizing as of prime relevancy to the solution of the problem the familiar fact that civilization is a partial, incomplete, and, to a great extent, superficial modification of barbarism.
It is not uncommon in modern times to see governments straining every nerve to keep the peace, and the people whom they represent, with patriotic enthusiasm and resentment over real or fancied wrongs, urging them forward to war.
War is not the answer, because only love can conquer hate.
As they used to say 'What if they gave a war and nobody came?' How worthwhile if they declared a day of peace and everybody came.
The question that we must ask is whether we are making progress toward the goal of universal peace. Or are we caught up on a treadmill of history, turning forever on the axle of mindless aggression and self-destruction?
Out yonder they may curse, revile, and torture one another, defile all the human instincts, make a shambles of creation (if it were in their power), but here, no, here, it is unthinkable, here there is abiding peace, the peace of God, and the serene security created by a handful of good neighbors living at one with the creature world.
And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights -- the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation – the right to breathe air as nature provided it -- the right of future generations to a healthy existence?" (John F. Kennedy, June 10, 1963, American University speech)
I regard myself as a soldier, though a soldier of peace.
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