I don't think nations can stand aside for ethnic cleansing and genocide.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the moral obligation of nations to intervene against atrocities like ethnic cleansing and genocide.
John Major's quote reflects a strong stance against the passive complicity of nations during instances of ethnic cleansing and genocide. It asserts that the international community has a responsibility to take action rather than remain indifferent in the face of such grave human rights violations, expressing a belief in global moral responsibility and ethical intervention.
In practice
In a speech addressing human rights violations, one could use this quote to highlight the need for active involvement.
The sight of allegedly sophisticated politicians parroting complete tripe trivialises and demeans government and it has to be stopped. It's played a significant part in public disillusionment with politics and has led to the absurd situation where more people vote for 'Strictly Come Dancing' than voted in the general election.
The argument that someone is a bad man is an inadequate argument for war and certainly an inadequate and unacceptable argument for regime change.
Whether you agree with me or disagree with me; like me or loathe me, don't bind my hands when I am negotiating on behalf of the British nation.
My patriotism and my conscience required me to support it and to engage in the debate over whether and how to fight it.
There is just so much hurt, disappointment, and oppression one can take... The line between reason and madness grows thinner.
I will come again & conquer you because as a mountain you can't grow, but as a human, I can
At Tara in this fateful hour, I place all Heaven with its power, And the sun with its brightness, And the snow with its whiteness, And the fire with all the strength it hath, And the lightning with its rapid wrath, And the winds with their swiftness along their path, And the sea with its deepness, And the rocks with their steepness, And the earth with its starkness: All these I place, By God's almighty help and grace Between myself and the powers of darkness!
Nonviolence is an intensely active force when properly understood and used.
The interaction between human rights campaigners from Pakistan and India was a big taboo in the 1980s. When we started traveling to India to increase people-to-people contact between the two nations, we knew that we would face serious repercussions back home.
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