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“It is an unfortunate fact that we can secure peace only by preparing for war.†-John F. Kennedy
“Pacifism is generally considered to be a morally unassailable position to take with respect to human violence. … While it can seem noble enough when the stakes are low, pacifism is ultimately nothing more than a willingness to die, and to let others die, at the pleasure of the world's thugs. It should be enough to note that a single sociopath, armed with nothing more than a knife, could exterminate a city full of pacifists. …
Here we come upon a terrible facet of ethically asymmetric warfare: when your enemy has no scruples, your own scruples become another weapon in his hand.†-The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason by Sam Harris
“I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word. I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words unto my taste yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp [4] unto my feet, and a light unto my path.†-Psalm 119:101-105
“And this I do boldly and confidently say, that true holiness is a great reality. It is something in a man that can be seen, and known, and marked, and felt by all around him. It is light: if it exists, it will show itself. It is salt: if it exists, its savour will be perceived. It is a precious ointment: if it exists, its presence cannot be hid.†[From the book Holiness] -J.C. Ryle
“And because all we like sheep have turned away. We have each turned each one to his own way.†-Isaiah 53:6
“Humans are sinners prone to wander. Prone to drift away from God and His great plan for our lives - "to be Holy for He is Holy.†-Peter 1:15-16
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.†-Matthew 5:14-16
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“If children were brought into the world by an act of pure reason alone, would the human race continue to exist? Would a man rather have so much sympathy with the coming generation, as to spare it the burden of existence? Or at any rate not take it upon himself to impose that burden upon it in cold blood.†~Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)
Sufferings of the World 1851
“Anyone who believes exponential growth can go on forever in a finite world, is either a madman or an economist.†~Kenneth Boulding, Economics professor
“All our lauded technological progress--our very civilization--is like the axe in the hand of the pathological criminal.†~Albert Einstein
“More than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.†~Woody Allen
“It is a simple logical truth that, short of mass emigration into space, with rockets taking off at the rate of several million per second, uncontrolled birth-rates are bound to lead to horribly increased death-rates. It is hard to believe that this simple truth is not understood by those leaders who forbid their followers to use effective contraceptive methods. They express a preference for ‘natural’ methods of population limitation, and a natural method is exactly what they are going to get. It is called starvation.†~Richard Dawkins, The Selfish Gene
“The Earth does not belong to us, we belong to the Earth. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.†~Attributed to "Chief Seattle" (Noah Sealth 1786-1866)
“Whether many people realize it yet or not, humans, the Inferior Animal, has by now proved themselves incapable of keeping their own species - and others - alive for very much longer. So the earth has begun its own plan to set things right.†-Benjamin Hoff
“People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one.†-Leo J. Burke
“Men and women are like other living creatures: they bring children into the world with little or no thought about the matter and then they suffer and toil as best as they can to rear them. Men and women think that it is necessary to have children. It is not. It is their animal nature and social custom, rather than reason, which makes them believe that this is a necessity.
Don't have children; they bring much trouble, toil, and sorrow. What few advantages there are to having children rarely outweigh the disadvantages.†-Democritus
“And it came about while He said these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice, and said to Him, 'Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed.' But He said, 'On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it.†-Jesus (Luke 11:27-28)
DID YOU KNOW?• 72 acres of rainforest are destroyed every minute mostly by impoverished people working for multinational corporations, who are cutting and burning the forest to create agricultural or pasturelands to grow beef for export to the United States.
• Poverty and overpopulation are the primary factors leading to the destruction of forests, which are so essential to maintaining human life on the planet.
• The United States imports two hundred million pounds of beef every year from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama – while the average citizen in those countries eats less so called meat each year than the average American house cat.
• World population, now currently 6.7 billion!, is growing by another 76 million people per year!!! According to the UN the world will add another 2.6 billion people by 2050. Rapid population growth has placed incredible stress on Earth's resources. Global demand for water has tripled since the 1950s, but supply of fresh drinking water has been declining because of over-pumping and contamination. Half a billion people live in water-stressed or water-scarce countries, and by 2025 that number will grow to three billion.
“Wherefore I say to all those who desire to be disciples, keep your hands from bloodshed and let no flesh meat enter your mouths, for the Lord is just and bountiful; who ordains that man shall live by the fruits and seeds of the earth alone.â€
-Jesus, Gospel of the Nazirenes, Chapter 38, Verse 4
“He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man.â€
-Isaiah 66:3
“If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow man.â€
-St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)
“Why should man expect his prayer for mercy to be heard by what is above him when he shows no mercy to what is under him?â€
-Pierre Troubetzkoy
The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men. -Leonardo da Vinci, artist and scientist
“In an earlier stage of our development most human groups held to a tribal ethic. Members of the tribe were protected, but people of other tribes could be robbed or killed as one pleased. Gradually the circle of protection expanded, but as recently as 150 years ago we did not include blacks. So African human beings could be captured, shipped to America and sold. In Australia white settlers regarded Aborigines as a pest and hunted them down, much as kangaroos are hunted down today. Just as we have progressed beyond the blatantly racist ethic of the era of slavery and colonialism, so we must now progress beyond the speciesist ethic of the era of factory farming, of the use of animals as mere research tools, of whaling, seal hunting, kangaroo slaughter and the destruction of wilderness. We must take the final step in expanding the circle of ethics.†-Peter Singer
“The animal rights movement is part of a revolutionary process aimed at restructuring the major institution of society.†-Dr. Morgan
“I am in favor of animal rights as well as human rights. That is the way of a whole human being.†-Abraham Lincoln
“If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would... Only 7 perent of Americans are hunters. That means there are more of us than there are of them. It is simply a matter of democracy. The majority rules in a democracy. We are going to use the ballot box, and the democratic process to stop all hunting in the United States... We will take it species by species, until all hunting is stopped in California. Then, we will take it state by state.†-Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the U.S.
“When it comes to the last hour of your life, it will be a great consolation to feel that you always protect the poor, the helpless, and the unfortunate; and that you exercised a particular care towards animals.†-Caroline Earle White, 1833-1916
“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'†-Martin Luther King Jr.
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.†-Mother Theresa
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.†-Matthew, V:9
“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 E. Gladstone
“Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.†-Dr. Albert Schweitzer
"Unless someone like you cares a whole lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not.†-Dr. Seuss, The Lorax
“The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.†-Martin Luther King Jr.
“Take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.†-Elie Wiesel (concentration camp survivor)
“I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to rouse the conscience of the community over its injustice is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.†-Martin Luther King Jr.
“My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt.†-Sewell (Author of "Black Beauty"; 1820-1878)
“It would be easier to mindlessly conform.....†-HUMAN VIRUS
“Be realistic - demand the impossible!†-Unknown
“It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.†-J Krishnamurti
“It is hope, not despair, what makes a revolution successful.†-Chinese fortune cookie
“Imagine if everyone would live in harmony, if each person cared and loved one another, and if people helped each other instead of hurt each other.†-Unknown
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.†-Martin Luther King jr.
“Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.†-Democritus
“By desiring little, a poor man makes himself rich.†-Democritus
“Presence always trumps presents.†-Joe Kelly, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
“We want a world in which the economy and ecology resonate in balance. We try to coax people from spectator to participant in this quest. We want folks to get mad about corporate disinformation, injustices in the global economy, and any industry that pollutes our physical or mental commons.†-Adbusters
“Say the thing everyone is thinking.†-Unknown
“You're taught to chase after the usual brass rings, being on this 'who's who' list or that top 100 list, how much money you make and how big your corner office is; whether you have a fancy enough title or a nice enough car. Let me suggest that such an approach won't get you where you want to go. It displays a poverty of ambition, that in fact, the elevation of appearance over substance, celebrity over character, short-term gain over lasting achievement is precisely what your generation needs to help end.†-President Barack Obama, Arizona State University, Urging Graduates to Change Perspective
“A society that cannot heal its own people, cannot heal itself†-Lynne Williams
A-H-I-M-S-A is LifeAHIMSA = 'non harming, non injuring'
A = Abstinence from animal product.
H = Harmlessness with reverence for life.
I = Integrity of thought, word and deed.
M = Mastery over oneself.
S = Service to humanity, nature and creation.
A = Advancement of understanding truth.
Love is Life is PeaceThe greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.
- Atisha
Some inspiring quotes on activism to get you off your knees and on your feet:“You may think your actions are meaningless and that they won't help, but that is no excuse, you must still act.†-Mohandas Gandhi
“Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a point when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because his conscience tells him that it is right.†-Martin Luther King Jr.
“There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.†-Elie Weisel
“That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong.†-William J. H. Boetcker
“A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.†-Thomas Jefferson
“All that is essential for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.†-Edmund Burke
“Most of the trouble in the world is caused by people wanting to be important.†-T.S. Eliot
“The hottest seats in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crises, choose to do nothing.†-Dante Alighieri
“The economy is not some mysterious unmoving force that controls us. WE shape the economy by decisions that we make every day.†-Andrew Butler
“In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, for then it cost nothing to be a patriot.†-Mark Twain
“I love agitation and investigation and glory in defending unpopular truth against popular error.†-James A. Garfield
“New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any reason but because they are not already common.†-John Locke (Essay concerning Human Understanding, 1690)
“Noncooperation with evil is as much a duty as cooperation with good.†-Mohandas Gandhi
“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of people.†-Abraham Lincoln
“The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism.... It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn.†-George Washington
“Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change.†-Robert F. Kennedy
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.†-Romans 12:2
“The time is always right to do what is right.†-Martin Luther King Jr.
“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God, I will do.†-Edward Everett Hale
“It's the action, not the fruit of the action, that's important. You have to do the right thing. It may not be in your power, may not be in your time, that there'll be any fruit. But that doesn't mean you stop doing the right thing. You may never know what results come from your action. But if you do nothing, there will be no result.†-Mohandas Gandhi
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centuries of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.†–Robert F. Kennedy
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.†-Mohandas Gandhi
“The day may dawn when fair play, love for one's fellows, respect for justice and freedom, will enable tormented generations to march forth, serene, and triumphant, from the hideous epoch in which we have to dwell. Meanwhile, never flinch, never weary, and never despair.†-Winston Churchill
“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.†-Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (1788-1860)
“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.†-Albert Einstein
“Night of justice, knight of justice. Liberation’s crusade has begun. Your laws will have no meaning past the setting of the sun. Demons feeding off of the innocents’ pain. Generations of oppression, one generation will break this chain.†-Earth Crisis
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.†-Albert Einstein
“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.†-Christopher Reeve
“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.†-Cesar Chavez
“Each person must live their life as a model for others.†-Rosa Parks
“A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.†-Ralph Nader
“Old age is not a disease - it is strength and survivor ship, triumph over all kinds of vicissitudes and disappointments, trials and illnesses.†-Maggie Kuhn
People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered;
love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;
do good anyway.
If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies;
succeed anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow;
do good anyway.
Honesty and frankness will make you vulnerable;
be honest and frank anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs;
fight for some underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight;
build anyway.
People really need help but may attack you if you help them;
help anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth;
give the world the best you got anyway.-Mother Theresa
