“Guns won’t change the world. That is one on the great lessons of this bloody century. Dollar bills won’t change the world. Nor will simple good will. What can change the world today is the same thing that has changed it in the past -- an idea and the service of dedicated, committed individuals to that idea [...] The idea that free and committed men and women can cross boundaries of culture and language, of alien traditions and great disparities of wealth, of old hostilities and new nationalisms, to meet with other men and women on the common ground of service to human dignity.”
Our Quote of the Week lays the groundwork for our intention for 2025: to nurture and implement ideas “of service to human dignity”.
Sargent Shriver spoke these words at the 1964 American Red Cross Annual Convention, during a particularly eventful moment in his life. At the time, he was the founding Director of a thriving Peace Corps and he had recently been enlisted by President Johnson to lead the War on Poverty. Engaged in growing the former and in creating the programs of the latter, he delivered a compelling address to the members of this humanitarian organization.
In the speech , Shriver makes the point that power wielded through money or violence will ultimately not effect meaningful, social change. It is only by implementing bold, human-centered ideas that we can make a positive impact significant enough to “change the world”.
Infused into this idea are the values that inspired Sargent Shriver throughout his life: that we are all capable of working together and serving others; that all human beings deserve justice; and that we all have a role to play in building peace and in ensuring human rights for all.
As we reflect on the violence and turmoil we’re seeing at home and abroad, may we commit to changing the way things are, to crossing boundaries, eliminating disparities, and to “meeting with other men and women on the common ground of service to human dignity.”
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