|
|
US Peace Memorial Foundation |
QUOTATIONS
ON THE MONUMENT
(Scroll down to see quotes under
consideration)
The Foundation honors
Americans who stand for peace by publishing the US Peace Registry,
awarding the annual US Peace Prize,
and planning for the US
Peace Memorial in Washington,
D.C. The first two projects are ongoing and well-developed. It is now time to flesh
out the concept of the memorial as a permanent stone national monument engraved
with quotes from well-known Americans.
The proposed national
monument will feature short, poignant, and memorable statements made by U.S.
citizens or permanent residents who are easily recognized by virtue of their
prominent leadership roles, cultural contributions, and historical importance. Founding Members are invited to
suggest well-referenced quotations for consideration and, as a group, help make
decisions about quotes that will be chiseled into the monument and at what
level or height on the structure. The selections will also be included with
complete references on our website, at electronic kiosks located all around the
US Peace Memorial, on social media, and in our publications.
The Foundation’s intention is
to present inspirational and nonpartisan quotes to demonstrate that peace has
been a concern of our country’s leaders and public figures going all the way
back to our nation’s formation. Peace is not a concern only in times of war,
but at all times, and our thoughts about it should
influence U.S. foreign policy and how we choose to spend our tax dollars.
When selecting a quotation,
we are not judging or endorsing the entire life history of the author or the
consistency and goodness of their behavior over a lifetime. We know that humans
are flawed and that all will have made mistakes, whether or
not they acknowledge and apologize for them. However, when Americans
realize that leaders from a variety of backgrounds have articulated strong
antiwar statements, our culture can change. More people will feel comfortable
speaking out, and the government will be challenged more frequently when it
threatens, invades, or occupies other countries.
The Foundation is now
accepting suggestions and comments. Once we have the first fifty viable
quotations by famous Americans, a formal selection and prioritization process
will be developed. If you wish to help our organization
make these and other crucial decisions and still need to become a Member,
please join us at www.USPeaceMemorial.org/Donors.htm.
QUOTATIONS UNDER CONSIDERATION*
The quotations listed below
have undergone initial reference verification and are under Founding Member
review and comment via social media. We look forward to expanding the
collection and including them here. Please send your ideas for antiwar quotations
by famous Americans to info@USPeaceMemorial.org.
1. “War
will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the
same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.”
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963).
Kennedy, John F. “Letter
to a Navy friend.” A Thousand Days:
John F. Kennedy in the White House. Schlesinger,
Arthur M. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1965. 88. Print.
2. “We must
devise a system in which Peace is more rewarding than War.”
Margaret Mead (1901-1978).
Gioseffi, Daniela. Women on
War: Essential Voices for the Nuclear Age. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1988. Print.
3. “It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is
necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.”
Martin
Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968).
King, Martin Luther, Jr. “Acceptance Speech, Nobel Prize for Peace 1964.”
Nobel Lectures Including Presentation Speeches and Laureates' Biographies
Peace. Vol. 3. Ed. Frederick W. Haberman,
Amsterdam: Elsevier Publishing, 1972. Print.
4. “The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not
of war.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882).
Emerson, Ralph W. The
Conduct of Life: Nine Essays on Fate, Power, Wealth, Culture, Worship, Etc. New York: Scott-Thaw Co, 1903. 225.
Print.
5. “[t]here was
never a good War, or a bad Peace.”
Benjamin Franklin
(1706-1790).
Franklin, Benjamin,
and Ralph Ketcham. The Political Thought of Benjamin Franklin. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Pub, 2003. Print.
6. “I believe
that the killing of human beings in a war is no better than common murder.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955).
Einstein, Albert,
and Alice Calaprice.
The Ultimate Quotable Einstein. Princeton, N.J: Princeton UP, 2011. 258.
Print.
7. “Strike
against war, for without you no battles can be fought.”
Helen Keller (1880-1968).
Keller, Helen, and
Philip S. Foner. Helen Keller, Her Socialist Years: Writings and Speeches. New York: International Publishers,
1967. Print.
8. “Observe good faith and justice towards all nations;
cultivate peace and harmony with all.”
George
Washington (1732-1799).
Washington, George.
“Farewell Address.” A Patriot's Handbook: Songs, Poems, Stories, and
Speeches Celebrating the Land We Love.
Ed. Caroline Kennedy. New York:
Hyperion, 2003. 34-40. Print.
9. “I am an
anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having
the eagle put its talons on any other land.”
Mark Twain, pseudonym for
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910).
Twain, Mark, and Jim Zwick. Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti-imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War. Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse UP, 1992. Print.
10. “I hate war
as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.”
Dwight David Eisenhower (1890-1969).
Eisenhower, Dwight
D. Canadian Club. Ottawa, Canada. Jan. 1946. Address.
11. “We will not
learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.”
Carter, Jimmy. “Nobel Lecture.” Peace
2001-2005. Eds. Abrams Irwin and
Scott London. Singapore: World
Scientific, 2009. 52-61. Print.
12. “Never think that war, no
matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime.”
Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961).
Hemingway, Ernest.
“Introduction.” Treasury
for the Free World, Ed. Ben Raeburn. New York: Arco, 1946. xiii-xv.
Print.
13. “I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for
young men to die in.”
George
S. McGovern (1922-2012).
Anson, Robert S. McGovern:
A Biography. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1972.
179. Print.
14. “How can you
make a war on terror, if war itself is terrorism?”
Howard Zinn (1922-2010).
Zinn, Howard. “The Uses of History and the War on
Terrorism.” Speech given in Madison, WI.
5 Oct. 2006. Posted in The
Progressive. 17 Dec. 2006.
15.
“No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of
continual warfare.”
James
Madison (1751-1836).
Madison, James. Letters
and Other Writings of James Madison: Fourth President of the United States.
Vol. 4. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1865. 491. Print.
16. “… all war is
a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal, ...”
John
Steinbeck
(1902-1968).
Steinbeck, John. Once There
Was a War. New York, London: Viking
Press, 1958. 9. Print.
17. “No, I am not
going 10,000 miles to help murder kill and burn other people to simply help
continue the domination of white slavemasters over
dark people ...”
Muhammad Ali (1942-2016).
Taylor, Clyde. Vietnam and Black America: An Anthology of
Protest and Resistance. Garden City,
N.Y: Anchor Press, 1973. Print.
18. “More than
just an end to war, we want an end to the beginnings of all wars - yes, an end
to this brutal, inhuman and thoroughly impractical method of settling
differences between governments.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
(1882-1945).
Roosevelt, Franklin
D. “[Undelivered] Address written for
Jefferson Day.” Read by Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Jr., 13 April 1945. Radio
broadcast.
19. “A people free to choose will always choose peace.”
Ronald
Reagan (1911-2004).
Anderson, Martin, and Annelise G. Anderson. Reagan's Secret War: The Untold Story of
His Fight to Save the World from Nuclear Disaster. New York: Crown Publishers, 2009. 386.
Print.
20. “... he who is the author of a war, lets loose the whole
contagion of hell, and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to death.”
Thomas
Paine (1737-1809).
Paine, Thomas. Collected
Writings. New York: Library of
America, 1995. 165. Print.
21. “From where the sun now stands I will fight no more
forever.”
Chief
Joseph, Thunder Traveling to the Loftier Mountain Heights (1840-1904).
Brown, Mark H. The Flight of the Nez Perce. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press,
1971. 407. Print.
22. “... as the War Office of the United
States was established in a time of peace, it is equally reasonable that a
Peace Office should be established in a time of war.”
Benjamin Rush (1746-1813).
Rush, Benjamin. “A plan of a Peace-Office for the United States.” Essays,
Literary, Moral and Philosophical, 2nd Ed. Philadelphia: Thomas and William Bradford, 1806. 183. Print.
23. “Peace with all nations, and the right which that gives us
with respect to all nations, are our object.”
Thomas
Jefferson (1743-1826).
Jefferson, Thomas.
“Letter to Mr. Dumas, March 24, 1793.” The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed.
H. A. Washington, vol. 3, 535. Print.
_____________
Check back
often. As new quotations are referenced, they will
be added to this page and posted on Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram for
review. We invite our Founding Members to add their comments on these social
media sites. Let us know which ones are your favorites – and share with us
any great quotes we may have overlooked.
*Note
regarding references and context: We recognize the risk of not taking
history and context into account when reviewing potential quotations. Without
critical analysis, errors in selection could be made. Before any quotation is
finalized for inclusion on the national monument, it will be thoroughly
researched and vetted. The text will be referenced in Modern Language
Association (MLA) citation style, as is standard
practice for speeches, letters, and biographical works. Prior
to selection for placement on the US Peace Memorial, our Volunteer Research Librarian(s) will verify the authenticity of the
quotation by locating it in a primary source. Electronic sources will be
verified twice, with one source being an original print source whenever
possible.
US Peace Memorial Foundation, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public
charity.
Donations to the
Foundation are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.
Florida
registration #: CH20094. A COPY OF THE
OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE
FLORIDA DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352)
WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR
RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.
Copyright 2005-2021, US Peace Memorial Foundation, Inc.