On Waging Peace

So, the news is pretty gnarly in this part of the world lately. Since I'm not in the headspace to get into a political overture when, by the time I finish my little missive, something new will completely displace all that I have to say. In the meantime, I thought maybe it would be good to hear what the children here have to say about the matter. I asked some of them, and they say that they can't tell the difference between a family that supports Hamas versus one that votes for Fatah. Honestly, they'd much rather play, or get to see the ocean one day. There's a great deal of darkness here. But there's also tremendous beauty.

Here are the children of Beit Sahour.

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

-Mother Teresa

"Peace is not just the absence of violence but the manifestation of human compassion."
--His Holiness the Dalai Lama

"Peace, to have meaning for many who have only known suffering in both peace and war, must be translated into bread or rice, shelter, health and education, as well as freedom and human dignity."

--Ralph Johnson Bunche

"Do you know what astonished me most in the world? The inability of force to create anything. In the long run the sword is always beaten by the spirit. Soldiers usually win battles and generals get the credit for them. You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war. If they want peace, nations should avoid the pin-pricks that precede cannon shots."

--Napoleon Bonaparte

"The most disadvantageous peace is better than the most just war."

--Desiderius Erasmus

"There was never a good war or a bad peace."

--Ben Franklin

"We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace."

-- William Gladstone

In peace,

Namaste