By Carl Sagan
“You are, by accident of fate, alive at an absolutely critical moment in the history of our planet. Anything else you’re interested in is not going to happen if you can’t breathe the air and drink the water. Don’t sit this one out. Do something.”
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, and science communicator who played a key role in the US space program.
By Howard Zinn
“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”
Howard Zinn was an American historian, playwright, philosopher, socialist intellectual and World War II veteran.
By St. Louise de Marillac
“Do not be upset if things are not as you would want them to be for a long time to come. Do the little you can very peacefully and calmly so as to allow room for the guidance of God in your lives. Do not worry about the rest.”
By St. Vincent de Paul
“Go forth, then. Go forth in the name of the Lord. We pray the Divine Goodness to accompany you, to be your consolation on the way, your shelter against the heat of the sun, your protection from the rain and cold, your soft couch in weariness, your strength in labor, and that in the end, it may bring you back in perfect health, laden with good deeds and precious remembrances.”
And may we send you forth in the spirit of St. Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac! Go lead with love!
Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Be the peace you wish to see in the world.”
Desmond Tutu: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
Elie Wiesel: “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.”
Marianne Williamson: “The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back in our hearts. Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life.” Continue reading
Guy Standing: “Collective action remains the best way of renewing the march towards the great trinity of liberty, equality, and solidarity.”
Ellen Key: “When the sense of solidarity has been developed to such a point that each one feels the cause of all others as his own, we shall be drawing near to international and to social peace.”
Linda Sarsour: “We must stand together united against the targeting, demonization, and the vilification of any group of people.”
David Dellinger: “I enjoy life this way. I enjoy life being in solidarity with people who are fighting for a better world.”
Claire Denis: “I can’t imagine a place with absolutely no solidarity. For me, it’s a nightmare. And I don’t want to live in a place like that.”
Suzy Kassem: “We cannot control the way people interpret our ideas or thoughts, but we can control the words and tones we choose to convey them. Peace is built on understanding, and wars are built on misunderstandings. Never underestimate the power of a single word, and never recklessly throw around words. One wrong word, or misinterpreted word, can change the meaning of an entire sentence and start a war. And one right word, or one kind word, can grant you the heavens and open doors.”
Nathaniel Branden: “The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance.”
Aristotle: “The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than mere survival.”
“We come to experience poverty and oppression not only as an individual problem but also as a structural one. Poverty is the result not so much of the lack of talent or drive of individuals as it is of conscious political and economic policies.
Poverty is seen as the deliberate exploitation of people and whole countries for the economic or military advantage of others. Poverty becomes a matter of injustice and oppression, and not just an unfortunate but unavoidable situation. Poverty is a structural problem, a problem of unjust and oppressive institutions and systems, and we are a part of it.
Our first reaction to this heightened awareness is that of anger—anger against the rich, the powerful, the huge corporations, the politicians, the governments. This anger becomes a part of the crisis of this second transformation. We need to acknowledge and express it in appropriate ways. We are challenged to expand the virtue of compassion to include not just those who are unjustly oppressed, but also those who are the cause of the oppression and against whom we experience such strong feelings of anger.”
Fr. Theodore Wiesner, CM, is a Vincentian priest whose work helped shape the Vincentians in Action framework.