19 quotes
The absence of hope can rot a society from within.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
Peace is not merely the absence of visible conflict. Only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
But war itself is never glorious, and we must never trumpet it as such.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
I believe that all nations — strong and weak alike — must adhere to standards that govern the use of force.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
We can acknowledge that oppression will always be with us, and still strive for justice.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
Where force is necessary, we have a moral and strategic interest in binding ourselves to certain rules of conduct.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
Terrorism has long been a tactic, but modern technology allows a few small men with outsized rage to murder innocents on a horrific scale.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
Let us reach for the world that ought to be — that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
Sanctions must exact a real price. Intransigence must be met with increased pressure — and such pressure exists only when the world stands together as one.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
Clear-eyed, we can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace. We can do that — for that is the story of human progress; that's the hope of all the world; and at this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
There's no simple formula here. But we must try as best we can to balance isolation and engagement, pressure and incentives, so that human rights and dignity are advanced over time.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
America has never fought a war against a democracy, and our closest friends are governments that protect the rights of their citizens. No matter how callously defined, neither America's interests — nor the world's — are served by the denial of human aspirations.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
Let me make one final point about the use of force. Even as we make difficult decisions about going to war, we must also think clearly about how we fight it.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it. Peace requires responsibility. Peace entails sacrifice.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
We do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King's life work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there's nothing weak — nothing passive — nothing naïve — in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations — that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
The one rule that lies at the heart of every major religion is that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
Adhering to this law of love has always been the core struggle of human nature.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)
We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth: We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations — acting individually or in concert — will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.
Nobel Prize acceptance speech (2009)