Essays on Nonviolence

“All our history gives confirmation to the view that liberty of conscience has a moral and social value which makes it worthy of preservation at the hands of the state.”

“War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.”

“When we say “Thou shalt not kill,” we’re really saying that human life is too sacred to be taken on the battlefields of the world.”

“The conscientious objector is a revolutionary … he sacrifices his personal interests to the most important cause of working for the betterment of society.”

“We are not talking of passive resistance. Love and prayer are not passive, but a most active glowing force.”

“Because we all share this small planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity.”

“It was difficult being a conscientious objector in the 1940’s, but I felt I had to stick to my guns.”

“It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.”

“Conscientious Objector. I shall die, but that is all that I shall do for Death. I hear him leading his horse out of the stall; I hear the clatter on the barn-floor…”

“This is the message of the Jubilee, this is my hope at the beginning of a new Millennium. War is a defeat for humanity.”

“War never solves anything – it accentuates any problem… There is no moral or humanitarian justification for it.”

“Conscientious objection to war and military service is in accord with the highest ideals of Judaism.”