Peace is not passive, it is active. Peace is not appeasement, it is strength. Peace does not 'happen,' it requires work.
Interpretation
Peace requires active effort and strength rather than passivity or mere tolerance.
This quote by Hubert H. Humphrey emphasizes that true peace is not a passive state or a product of complacency; rather, it is an active endeavor that requires strength and dedication. It challenges the notion that peace can be achieved simply by avoiding conflict, highlighting instead that it demands continuous effort and engagement from individuals and communities alike.
In practice
In a speech about community building, mentioning this quote highlights the need for active participation in fostering peace.
It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.
Much of our American progress has been the product of the individual who had an idea; pursued it; fashioned it; tenaciously clung to it against all odds; and then produced it, sold it, and profited from it.
We need an America with the wisdom of experience. But we must not let America grow old in spirit.
You cannot go around and keep score. If you keep score on the good things and the bad things, you'll find out that you're a very miserable person. God gave man the ability to forget, which is one of the greatest attributes you have. Because if you remember everything that's happened to you, you generally remember that which is the most unfortunate.
Here we are the way politics ought to be in America; the politics of happiness, the politics of purpose and the politics of joy.
The pursuit of peace resembles the building of a great cathedral. It is the work of a generation. In concept it requires a mater-architect; in execution, the labors of many.
Nagasaki and Hiroshima remind us to put peace first every day; to work on conflict prevention and resolution, reconciliation, and dialogue; and to tackle the roots of conflict and violence.
The more we elevate people's lives - the more we treat people with dignity and respect and honor their rights and freedoms - the more we discourageand even preventterrorism.
Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time.
When I look at my goal, my goal is peace.
We shall prepare the coffee of reconciliation through the filter of justice. Through reconciliation, streams of tears will come to our eyes.
My colleagues and I have gone in the footsteps of our predecessors since the very first day we were called by our people to care for their future. We went any place, we looked for any avenue, we made any effort to bring about negotiations between Israel and its neighbors, negotiations without which peace remains an abstract desire.
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