“Don’t be misled by people who tell you that they can achieve some sort of a total victory through military means. There will be no total victory for anyone ... if there is a total war. So pledge yourself not to arms but to men, not to military might but to the moral strength that comes from working with people on a basis of equality without regard to race, color or creed.”
Our Quote of the Week asks us to commit to a more peaceful future by abandoning the path of war and committing to each other.
This week, we chose words from Sargent Shriver’s 1964 White House Seminar, a speech from a pivotal moment in Shriver’s career. He had been leading a successful Peace Corps for three years, and he had also been tasked with leading the War on Poverty. With the successes of the Peace Corps fresh in his mind and the potential of the War on Poverty ahead of him, Shriver spoke in a holistic way about our potential as human beings to create a more stable, peaceful nation and world.
We invite you to read the transcript of this speech, which includes a long Q&A with high school and university students from around the country.
As we read about ongoing military strikes that are destroying the lives of innocents throughout the Middle East, let us demand a de-escalation of violence, and set the expectation for diplomacy and peace.
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