When it becomes a bloody reality, we have to come together and look at what can be done to return to the order of peace, ... There is no alternative to it.
Shimon PeresRead
Let all of us turn from bullets to ballots, from guns to shovels.
Interpretation
The quote advocates for resolving conflicts through peaceful means rather than violence.
Shimon Peres emphasizes the importance of transitioning from violent actions, represented by 'bullets', to constructive efforts, represented by 'ballots' and 'shovels'. This reflects a call for democratic engagement and productive labor as a means to effect change in society, underscoring the notion that peaceful dialogue and community building are preferable to conflict and destruction.
In practice
In a community meeting discussing conflict resolution strategies.
When it becomes a bloody reality, we have to come together and look at what can be done to return to the order of peace, ... There is no alternative to it.
I didn't plan to be a politician. The founder of our country, David Ben-Gurion, called me from the kibbutz to serve in the underground. We were short of manpower, short of arms. I was 24 years old. I was supposed to serve my country for one or two years. I am 89 years old this year, and I keep going.
The United States is the only power in history that became great by giving and not by taking. I think the crisis was when the United States had more money than ideas. Money doesn't produce money. Ideas produce money.
The problem of the Middle East is poverty more than politics.
The Iranian regime suppresses its own people as well as others in the region. It prevents peace by sponsoring terror globally. With the ultimate weapon that it is deceptively developing, the regime aims to gain hegemony over the entire Middle East and hold the world's economy hostage.
Early in the morning, I fell in love with the girl that later on became my wife. At that time, we were so naive. I wanted to charm her, so I read her Capital by Marx. I thought somehow she would be convinced by the strength of his criticism about capital.
We as the governments, workers, employers and civil society must declare a war on child labour. This war cannot be won without strong, committed, coherent, and well-resourced worldwide movement. Equally needed is a genuine and active coordination between intergovernmental agencies at the highest level.
And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been
It's a lot easier, she realized, to be on the verge of something than to actually be it. This would still take time.
Yet when we achieved, and the new world dawned, the old men came out again and took our victory to remake it in the likeness of the former world they knew. Youth could win, but had not learned to keep: and was pitiably weak against age. We stammered that we had worked for a new heaven and a new earth, and they thanked us kindly and made their peace.
There is no force so powerful as an idea whose time has come.
The Constitution they wrote was designed to protect the rights of white, male citizens. As there were no black Founding Fathers, there were no founding mothers - a great pity, on both counts. It is not too late to complete the work they left undone. Today, here, we should start to do so.
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