“Each of us...is called on to be a peacemaker! No calling is higher, no calling is more needed. You are called to be peacemakers in your families, in your neighborhoods and in your workplaces. If you want to eliminate guns and all lethal weapons from the world, first you must get them out of our own hearts!”
Our Quote of the Week calls on each and every one of us to bring peace into our own environments. It reminds us that if we wish to have a more peaceful world, we must each take responsibility to achieve it.
At the age of 88, Sargent Shriver received an honorary degree from the University of Hartford. In the brief remarks he gave at the ceremony, he focused on the importance of peace and service, calling on his young audience to be peacemakers.
If you’re like us, you’ve become very concerned about the level of conflict you’re seeing all around. From the battles about the teaching of Black history in schools to open hostility about the implementation of COVID regulations in public places, and to many other issues, our differing, and sometimes incompatible, perceptions of threat and of safety are leading us to engage in ever-growing conflicts. Sargent Shriver’s words remind us that we must bring peace into our own hearts first, and that we must then infuse the spaces around us with that same peace. One could argue that this is easier said than done, but we would say that not only is peace possible, it is our only option if we want a stable, prosperous society in which we can all thrive. In our daily encounters with others, we must engage with openness and curiosity, and search for ways to move forward without conflict. If we are to achieve peace, we must practice it every day -- and we must start today.
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