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.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the irony of war being ignored and the power of collective peace.
Ed Asner's quote reflects on the futility of war, suggesting that its announcement is pointless if no one participates. In contrast, it highlights the value of peace, imagining a scenario where a day dedicated to unity and harmony attracts everyone's involvement, reinforcing the idea that people desire peace over conflict.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech promoting peace initiatives.
Never stand still. Only stand still enough to learn, and once you stop learning in that stance, move off. Always keep yourself engaged, in theater, in whatever job you can get. If you can't get an acting job, then go backstage. Or take tickets. But be around actors because that is where you will primarily learn.
We all moan and groan about the loss of the quality of life through the destruction of our ecology, and yet every one of us, in our own little comfortable ways, contributes daily to that destruction. It's time now to awaken in each one of us the respect and attention our beloved Mother deserves.
Peace is no mere matter of men fighting or not fighting. Peace, to have meaning for many who have known only suffering in both peace and war, must be translated into bread or rice, shelter, health, and education, as well as freedom and human dignity - a steadily better life. If peace is to be secure, long-suffering and long-starved, forgotten peoples of the world, the underprivileged and the undernourished, must begin to realize without delay the promise of a new day and a new life.
True there has been more talk of peace since 1945 than, I should think, at any other time in history. At least we hear more and read more about it because man's words, for good or ill, can now so easily reach the millions.
If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.
Peace does not appear so distant as it did. I hope it will come soon, and come to stay; and so come as to be worth the keeping in all future time.
One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and spiritual confrontations, there should be an honest attempt at the reconciliation of differences before resorting to combat
We cannot have peace among men whose hearts find delight in killing any living creature.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.