Edward James Olmos Quotes

Until we have created a romance of peace that would equal that of war, violence will not disappear from people's lives.

War is not the answer, because only love can conquer hate.

There should be no strife with the vanquished or the dead.

Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.

Peace comes through dealing with people. Peace doesn't come at the end of a bayonet or the end of a gun.

Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.

For many observers, a child who has known nothing but war, a child for whom the Kalashnikov is the only way to make a living and for whom the bush is the most welcoming community, is a child lost forever for peace and development. I contest this view. For the sake of these children, it is essential to prove that another life is possible.

Peace, if it ever exists, will not be based on the fear of war but on the love of peace.

How do we stop ourselves from blowing each other up because we think that God wants us to blow each other up.

People must lean the strategies of non-violence as a skill for use in their homes, their work and in making social change….Violence is an inarticulate language.

If we are going to teach the world not to hate the other, then we will have to start with children.

If we value human rights, they should be at the core of the project against violent extremism, and women a key part of our imagined future.

If you have to change some laws, get that done. If it's getting schools, the next generation, to understand love and understanding, let's get that done.

...instead of giving a rifle to somebody, build a school; instead of giving a rifle, build a community with adequate services. Instead of giving a rifle, develop an educational system that is not about conflict and violence, but one that promotes respect for values, for life, and respect for one's elders. This requires a huge investment. Yet if we can invest in a different vision of peaceful coexistence, I think we can change the world, because every problem has a nonviolent answer.

What we need is a generation of peace.

We do not need guns and bombs to bring peace, we need love and compassion.

Nonviolence is based on recognizing that all of us are human beings. And at a certain point we begin to learn that you don't gather very much by making enemies out of people and not recognizing their humanity. Nonviolence is essentially based on recognizing the humanity in every one one of us.

We're trying to sell peace, like a product, you know, and sell it like people sell soap or soft drinks. And it's the only way to get people aware that peace is possible, and it isn't just inevitable to have violence. Not just war - all forms of violence.

It is not the simple statement of facts that ushers in freedom; it is the constant repetition of them that has this liberating effect. Tolerance is the result not of enlightenment, but of boredom.

Dialogue is the basis of Indian culture, and we don't want to make any enemies. Political and ideological adversaries, perhaps, but not enemies.

Everybody agrees that whatever the solutions are to the big problems, they... can never be without some element of education.

I can't on my own change the regime in South Africa or teach the Palestinians to learn to live with the Israelies, but I can start with me.

In Kenya, I met wonderful girls; girls who wanted to help their communities. I was with them in their school, listening to their dreams. They still have hope. They want to be doctor and teachers and engineers.

If there's a 13- or 14-year old kid who is yearning for something beyond the social forces in his own world, in his own neighborhood, the library is the only place where he can go to find that. It was exciting and thrilling to me all the time I worked in the library. It's such a force for social good and it can do so much.

When girls are educated, you get effects that cascade throughout society.