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"It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of our own people became a hunger for the freedom of all people, white and black. I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must be liberated just as surely as the oppressed. A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity."- Nelson Mandela ' Long Walk to Freedom' "First get your facts; then you may feel free to distort them at your leisure." -Mark Twain "Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul." Edward Abbey "Even when we interact daily with people of other ethnic groups, we rarely talk about racial issues. It seems too scary to people. But we must start doing it! We have to break down the barriers between us and talk openly, honestly, and with respect. The rewards far outweigh any concerns we may have."- Sue Alperin, dialogue participant "Dialogue gives me an opportunity to share my opinions and experiences. It gives me a chance to improve myself by listening and learning from other people."- Erik Hanamura, dialogue participant "Sometimes I feel discriminated against, but it does not make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can anyone deny themselves the pleasure of my company?" Zora Neale Hurston, Folklorist, Harlem Renaissance writer, and anthropologist "I know of no safe depository of the ultimate power of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion." Thomas Jefferson "Understand the differences; act on the commonalities." Andrew Masondo, African National Congress "In Germany, the Nazis first came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. They came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. They came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. They came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. They came for me, and by that time, there was no one left to speak up for me." The Reverend Martin Niemoller, German Lutheran minister and survivor of the Dachau concentration camp "Make a distinction between the person and their opinions—opinions are like clothes, a matter of taste and fashion that can be changed at will. Don't mistake them for the essential core."- Mark Somner "The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought and attended my answer." Henry David Thoreau "We are faced with having to learn again about interdependency and the need for rootedness after several centuries of having systematically—and proudly—dismantled our roots, ties, and traditions. We had grown so tall we thought we could afford to cut the roots that held us down, only to discover that the tallest trees need the most elaborate roots of all."- Paul L. Wachtel "Talking things through really helps diffuse the hurt and anger. It plants the seed of interracial understanding." - Dixie Worthington, dialogue participant "Don't just do something; get out there and talk." -Willis Harman "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others."-Winston Churchill "Malcontentedness may be the beginning of promise."-Randolph Bourne "Wisdom enough to leech us to our ill, Is daily spun; but there exists no loom, To weave it into fabric. -Edna St. Vincent Millay "The whole purpose of democracy is that we may hold counsel with one another, so as not to depend upon the understanding of one man."-Woodrow Wilson "If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties…." Francis Bacon "It is our task—our essential, central, crucial task—to transform ourselves from mere social creatures into community creatures."-M. Scott Peck "If we look back at the development in the 20th century, the most devastating cause of human suffering, of deprivation of human dignity, freedom and peace, has been the culture of violence in resolving differences and conflicts. In some ways, our century could be called the century of war and bloodshed. The challenge before us, therefore, is to make the next century a century of dialogue and non-violence conflict resolution. In human societies there will always be differences of views and interests. But the reality today is that we are all interdependent and have to co-exist on this small planet. Therefore, the only sensible and intelligent way of resolving differences and clashes of interests, whether between individuals or nations, is through dialogue. " The Dalai Lama, on March 1997, 38th Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day "We will never achieve racial healing if we do not confront each other, take risks, make ourselves vulnerable, put pride aside, say all the things we are not supposed to say in mixed company—in short, put on the table all of our fears, trepidations, wishes, and hopes."- Harlon L. Dalton, Racial Healing "Knowing yourself is not so much about introspection and interaction. To know yourself is to realize that you are more than the little self that has been given to you by your history—the pattern that others made—that your true self is, in truth, much larger and includes other people, other cultures, other species even. That life is less about being and more about interbeing. We come to know ourselves, then, through coming to know each other. And the deeper that knowledge, the richer and more creative the world we build together."Danny Martin, Director of ICRE (International Communities for the Renewal of the Earth) "Without mutual knowledge there can be no mutual understanding; without understanding, there can be no trust and respect; without trust, there can be no peace, only the danger of conflict. This means we have to be willing and able to familiarize ourselves with the way people of other cultures think and perceive the world around them, but without losing our own standpoint in the process." -Roman Herzog, President of Germany | ||||
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