Blog

A New Measure of Power

Community Courage Individual Nonviolence Society

Operating on fear is an issue of character. Courage is not merely, or primarily, the absence of fear. It is the taking on of tasks and concerns that are larger than the fear. It is discovering how to face your fears and moving through them as a whole person. That is what is essential.

Rev. James Lawson
Nonviolence Strategist of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement

Mahatma Gandhi - The Courage of Nonviolence

Courage Individual Nonviolence

Nonviolence is the highest form of humility; it is supreme courage. The essence of Gandhi's teachings was fearlessness. The Mahatma taught that "the strong are never vindictive" and that dialogue can only be engaged in by the brave.
Daisaku Ikeda

Moving Toward Nuclear Abolition by 2030

Nonviolence Society

My administration's nuclear posture recognizes that the massive nuclear arsenal we inherited from the Cold War is poorly suited to today's threats, including nuclear terrorism. . . .But I believe the United States has a unique responsibility to act-- indeed, we have a moral obligation. I say this as President of the only nation ever to use nuclear weapons.

President Barack Obama's speech at Hankuk University in Seoul on March 26, 2012
 

VOV Exhibition in Cape Cod

Community Nonviolence

I think that the part about violence and anti-violence that most effects me is about being passive and apathetic.  There are only a very few people who commit acts of violence compared to the many that stand by and watch.  I’ve started to realize just how many acts of violence I see everyday, that don’t directly affect me so I don’t take note of them.  What if I tried to do something every time I saw violence?  I don’t actually think I would do that, but it’s something to think about.  Even if everyone only reacted to one thing, it could make a difference.

Reflection from a student at Sturgis East Charter School in Hyannis, MA in response to viewing the SGI-USA Victory Over Violence exhibition

Peace in the World Is Everybody’s Business

Individual Nonviolence

We have to have dreams, and we must have the capacity to make the dream a reality. When people told me in Ireland, “You can never do this,” I used to say, “Watch my smoke!” Don’t tell me I can’t do this, because I know that every single human being is capable of doing magnificent stuff, and there are no ordinary people.

Betty Williams
Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for her work to bring peace in her native Northern Ireland.

Making Peace Cultures Happen

Nonviolence Relationship

My own understanding of the term peace culture is that it is a culture that promotes peaceable diversity, dealing creatively with the conflicts and differences that appear in every society, because no two humans are alike. It includes lifeways, patterns of belief, values and behavior. It includes the accompanying institutionalized arrangements that promote mutual caring, well-being and the equitable sharing of the Earth's resources among its members and with all living beings. This is what we are working to achieve for the world we live in.

Elise Boulding
From Into Full Flower: Making Peace Cultures Happen