Peace society

“ The first men who substituted the state of mutual peace for that of mutual war, whatever the motive which impelled them to take that step, created society. But, in establishing peace, they obviously put a limit upon the struggle for existence. ”

“ The poet of the Middle Ages, who interpreted with the insight of a prophet the heart of the Mediaeval world, has laid down, as the first principle from which reasoning about the welfare of human society must start, that universal peace is the end for which all our action is and should be ordered. ”

“ In our earliest state each lived for himself. Then wars arose, and mutual assistance was required. Since we have had universal peace, we have tried to insist on each realising his duty to all society, and to the whole world. ”

“ The very concentration of authority which is essential in war is, in peace, fatally destructive not of freedom alone, but also of that maximum individual development which is the very end and purpose for which society exists."—Sidney Webb, Towards Social Democracy?, 1916. ”

“ This presupposes a state of society in which peace and order are felt by the masses of the people to be needed for their everyday occupations, their regular activities—in other words, a state of society in which everybody, or nearly everybody, being steadily at work for his own sustenance or benefit, feels himself interested in the maintenance of peace and order to insure to himself and those dependent upon him the fruit of his labor. ”

“ Nothing can appear more contradictory than the principles on which the old governments began, and the condition to which society, civilisation and commerce are capable of carrying mankind. Government, on the old system, is an assumption of power, for the aggrandisement of itself; on the new, a delegation of power for the common benefit of society. The former supports itself by keeping up a system of war; the latter promotes a system of peace, as the true means of enriching a nation. The one encourages national prejudices; ”

“ As far as possible, rest thou not for a moment, travel to the North and South of the country and summon all men to the oneness of the world of humanity and to universal peace, saying: O people! Bahá’u’lláh laid the foundation of universal peace fifty years ago. He even addressed Epistles to the kings wherein He declared that war could destroy the foundation of the world of humanity, that peace is conducive to everlasting life and that dire peril awaited mankind. ”

“ The quality and spirit of our own society must justify and support our efforts abroad. ”

“ President and Fellow-Citizens:—What the country stands most in need of is a final settlement of the difficulties connected with our civil war. The people of this country want peace—a solid, durable peace. ”

“ Thus shall the working classes of all the belligerent countries become conscious of the necessity to fight for a peace consistent with the principles of Socialism, a peace without conquest and without humiliation, a peace based not on hatred but on fraternity, not on force but on freedom, a peace which, because of its justice, may be everlasting. ”

“ In this most radiant century it has become necessary to divert these energies and utilize them in other directions, to seek the new path of fellowship and unity, to unlearn the science of war and devote supreme human forces to the blessed arts of peace. ”

“ True civilization will unfurl its banner in the midmost heart of the world... True civilization will unfurl its banner in the midmost heart of the world whenever a certain number of its distinguished and high-minded sovereigns—the shining exemplars of devotion and determination—shall, for the good and happiness of all mankind, arise, with firm resolve and clear vision, to establish the Cause of Universal Peace. They must make the Cause of Peace the object of general consultation, and seek by every means in their power to establish a Union of the nations of the world. ”

“ Our realists are going to discover some day to their astonishment that the “practical” policy they are seeking, the policy that will bring security with justice and peace, is this very policy of audacious friendliness functioning through appropriate machinery. We can climb up to peace in no other way. ”

“ Are the democracies of the world to stand together, or is the world-fight for freedom to be made, with our nation on the side-lines? The whole emphasis of the world's emotion has shifted from war to peace. ”

“ Redress these flagrant wrongs—seen of all men—and it will restore fraternity, and unity, and peace to us all. Refuse them, and what then? We shall then ask you, “Let us depart in peace.” [18] Refuse that, and you present us war. We accept it, and, inscribing upon our banners the glorious words, “Liberty and Equality,” we will trust to the blood of the brave and the God of battles for security and tranquility.
FOOTNOTES:
[17] By permission of the Cassell Publishing Company, N. Y. ”

“ Let men and women, youth and children everywhere recognize the eternal merit of this imperative action for all peoples and lift up their voices in willing assent. Indeed, let it be this generation that inaugurates this glorious stage in the evolution of social life on the planet.
IV The source of the optimism we feel is a vision transcending the cessation of war and the creation of agencies of international co-operation. Permanent peace among nations is an essential stage, but not, Bahá’u’lláh asserts, the ultimate goal of the social development of humanity. ”

“ In the name of Religion profaned, of Knowledge misapplied and perverted, of Freedom crushed to earth, of Virtue dethroned, of human Happiness violated, in the name of Law, Order, and Government, I call upon you for union to establish the supremacy of Peace. There must be no hesitation. With the lips you confess the infinite evil of War. ”

“ In our foreign relations there are with me two cardinal principles, which I have no hesitation to avow at all times: first, peace with all the world; and, secondly, sympathy with all struggling for Human Rights. In neither of these would I fail; for each is essential. Peace is our all-conquering ally. Through peace the whole world will be ours. ”

“ I trust our own country and government will always stand as a bright and shining light in the pathway of nations to cheer on with hope the suffering millions of mankind who are now struggling for life, liberty, and happiness—a happiness that is possible to men and nations who will cultivate the arts of peace instead of wasting their energies in wars of mutual destruction. ”

“ These are the aims and purposes of the peace policy, briefly stated, and must commend themselves to every right-minded citizen as in keeping with the duty of a powerful, and intelligent nation towards an ignorant and barbarous race providentially thrown upon it for control and support. ”

“ By that tedium and monotony of life and labor for vast companies of people, which when war drums sound, goads the field worker to forsake his harvest and the wage-earner to leap from his bench, we hold that the ways of peace should be so cast as to make stirring appeal to the heroic qualities in men, and give common utterance to the rhythm and beauty of national feeling. ”

“ We had no thought save for peace—peace and a quiet time in which we could more and more stamp the golden rule upon our civilization, cure our social shortcomings, and broaden and deepen the foundations of free government dug out and laid for us by the faith, courage, and endurance of our forefathers. We envied no peoples. ”

“ Do we in anywise interfere with any man's rights, Government, or make war upon any parties? No, but we are interested in the preservation of justice, equality and the rights of man in the developement of peace, the further establishment of correct, more elevated, refined and exalted principles, in placing ourselves in a position more in accordance with things as they exist in the heavens, for the welfare and happiness of the human family. ”

“ Hence the hope of peace lies not only, as most at present think in the civilised and civilising development of international law, or of culture intercourse, excellent though these are, but also in a fuller and complete return to nature than has been this recent and persistent obsession of our governing classes with the hunter world almost alone ”

“ What do we mean by our Empire, and what is its relation to that universal desire of mankind, the permanent rule of peace and justice in the world? The whole world will be the better for a very plain answer to that question. ”

“ Have we made peace within ourselves and in our homes? Have we made peace in that territory over which we preside? Is the same unanimity of feeling, the same union, the same singleness of purpose developed within us, as individuals and families, that marks the action and the conduct of this great people when the public safety and the interests of the people require effort? When labour is to be performed or sacrifice to be made, and it is called for, is it made? ”

“ Grievously as the passions of mankind degrade them in practice, there is nevertheless publicly recognized, in principle, a higher standard of responsibility, a higher and more universal obligation to maintain peace and goodwill on earth, than at any previous time in the world’s history. ”

“ We are here to choose between a life of peace and harmony, a life in which no man is oppressed in any way by any other, a life of fellowship, a life of peaceful trade, a life of shared talents and ideals—or a life of rigid organization, of slavery to a high-sounding phrase and a remorseless system of government that fits its subjects to itself rather than pattern itself to meet their greatest good. ”

“ May the Preserver and Sustainer of all humanity bring us a peace with such noble and high principles of conduct that may enable every man to claim liberty and freedom, as his birthright, and to consider every country as his motherland. ”

“ Now, at last, in the fulness of time, in our own day, by the labors of men of Peace, by the irresistible cooperating affinities of mankind, nations seem to be visibly approaching—even amidst tumult and discord—that Unity so long hoped for, prayed for. By steamboat, railroad, and telegraph, outstripping the traditional movements of government, men of all countries daily commingle, ancient prejudices fast dissolve, while ancient sympathies strengthen, and new sympathies come into being. ”

“ I have taken this one discussion as a sample to illustrate the present imperfection of our democratic instrument. All over the world, in every country, great multitudes of intelligent and serious people are now inspired by the idea of a new order of things in the world, of a world-wide establishment of peace and mutual aid between nation and nation and man and man. ”

“ But our first, our engrossing preoccupation is to make our citizens noble of spirit and strong of body. So they will in peace time make the most of themselves and their political unity, while in war they will bring their city through safe with its freedom and well-being unimpaired. ”

“ The hundreds of thousands of maimed and crippled loyal men who fought and suffered beside comrades who, fighting, fell to establish peace and protection, are earnestly asking the question. Thirty-eight million inhabitants in these United States whose prosperity can only be commensurate with the maintenance of peace and protection, all join in prayerfully asking the question. The countless lovers of freedom throughout the whole world with one accord are looking to this nation and anxiously asking the question. ”

“ Nations professing the religion of universal brotherhood carry on wars with the most perfect means of murder and destruction that may be imagined. Millions of soldiers in the Old World, and even in the New, are kept on foot, avowedly to guard the peace among nations who worship as God the great herald of "Peace on earth and good will among men!" ”

“ The first great public problem, historically, is that of war. And theoretically it may well come first, since the attainment of peace is the prerequisite of all other social advance. While a nation's energies are absorbed in war, nothing, or nearly nothing else can be done. So we turn to a consideration of war; and first, of that emotion, patriotism, whose training and redirection must underlie the movement toward universal peace.
What is the meaning and value of patriotism? ”

“ Our successes in transportation, in architecture, and in material well-being in general; our achievement of the welfare of the whole people over that of section or class, of equality of opportunity for each and of benevolence toward all, have already taught the whole world new lessons of peace, tolerance, and faith in the average man. ”

“ What is at stake now is the peace of the world. What we are striving for is a new international order based upon broad and universal principles of right and justice—no mere peace of shreds and patches. ”

“ As I owe everything in life to my country, I consecrate my heart, mind and body to its service and promise to work for its advancement and security in times of peace and to shrink from no sacrifices or privation in its cause should I be called upon to act in its defence for the freedom, peace and happiness of our people. ”

“ Likewise, He sent messages to the other kings and crowned heads of the earth, summoning all of them to love, equity, international peace and the oneness of humanity in order that mankind might become unified and agreed; that strife, warfare and sedition should pass away; that bitterness and enmity might cease and all arise to serve the one God. ”

“ The age in which we live and the international associa­tion with which we chose to be identified make us conscious in every phase of our lives that we have a country to de­fend, to develop for our people’s welfare, and to strengthen as a bastion for internal peace and for the peace of the world. ”