All people have the right

to live in peace!

Leaders of nations

who cast peace-loving people

into war’s conflagration

—inflicting on them

that horrific suffering—

epitomize evil.

Their crimes can never

be forgotten or forgiven.

What is needed now

is for each individual

to become stronger,

to check and triumph

over authority.

To do this is our right.

We struggle

and raise our voices loud

in order that we may live

lives of wonder and joy.

For the energy of the soul,

the might of the human spirit,

is an even greater force,

the most magnificent

power of all.

Let us form in our hearts

the resolute will to realize peace,

summoning a force

sublime and unsurpassed.

This is the goal and conclusion

sought by all of

humanity’s wisdom and learning

over the ages.

To sway aimlessly

in the maneuvering winds

of the powerful proves

obedient submission

to physical coercion.

Those who work for peace

should inspire each other,

freeing the spirit’s

most earnest aspirations.

We must always regard

the nightmare of war

—this doomed and criminal sin—  2

as the gravest stain

on human history.

Never chaotic or flustered,

let us strike out toward the future,

manifesting unparalleled strength.

Let us leave our mark on history,

a worthy marshalling toward peace;

and let this mark be precise,

built and based

on our robust solidarity.

Throughout history

humanity has

endured so much,

gazing always

at the distant dream—

persevering in anticipation

of the day when we will

live together in peace.

Always be on guard

against apathy.

For apathy inflates

ill-defined egos,

making them vulnerable

to virulent strains

of nationalism.

In the words of

the Austrian writer

Stephan Zweig:

We must counter

the organizations of war

with an organization of peace.

In precise accord

with this timeless insight,

we are organizing for peace

undeterred by any obstacle.

Pioneers of unknown paths

invariably meet with

slander and abuse.

Yet inspired philosophers

and visionaries bequeath us

the enduring genius

of their words.

Mahatma Gandhi:

Our struggles are efforts

aimed at creating friendship

with the entire world.

Non-violence was born   3

as the way of humanity

and its necessity has not yet ended.

This is the pioneering path

of world peace.

* * *

Humanity will never know

that place which is perfect

and without flaw.

But when will we succeed

in the eternal challenge

—this struggle ceaselessly repeated—

to transform our ideals,

the destined promise of peace,

into reality?

It is the duty

of all students

of power and of history

to expose and put an end

to the duplicitous

tactics of diplomacy;

to make a lasting and decisive

correction to the errors of the past;

to strive sincerely to resolve

all impediments

to the unity

of the world’s peoples.

Everyone

has the right to live.

No one

has the right

to take another’s life.

We must never forget

the yearning for happiness and peace

that kindles brightly

in the deepest reaches

of the hallowed soul

of every man, woman and child.

How deep

is human ignorance?

How lofty

is human intellect and spirituality?

Who exactly is the enemy?

To what end

are wars really waged?

Are not the principles

and ideals of global citizenship

—the dream of peace

pursued since the dawn of history—

now ripe for realization?

Was not the United Nations founded  4

to assure the peace and security

of all the world’s citizens?

Politicians,

what is the goal

of your activities?

Statesmen,

to what end do you wield

power and authority?

Please be finished

with your inane self-promotion.

And put an end

to your threatening rhetoric as well.

We’ve had enough

of meaningless efforts

that pretend to be surgical.

Because all that awaits those

who abandon the course

and commitment to peace

is a life of emptiness,

the capricious pursuit

of personal profit.

As Erasmus once asked:

Is not the world

the common fatherland

of all people?

* * *

Their minds contain nothing

of the crass machinations

that take highest delight

in grasping after power.

Hurriedly seeking

the towering dream,

they anticipate the arrival of

a new and yearned-for world

of enduring peace.

Never, ever forget

scrambling desperately

through indescribable horrors—

faces ashen with fear.

People without number

have fallen on the hellish path of war.

They have passed from this world   5

in twilight rains,

writhing in anguish,

blood oozing

from their mouths and wounds.

Who can believe

that spirited person,

those boys so radiant with hope,

are gone!

Victor Hugo declared

that a true political leader

is someone who,

confronting the reality

of even one person suffering

in poverty,

devotes every thought

and takes every action

for that person’s welfare and happiness.

Tears rise at

the simple yet profound

truth of Hugo’s insistence

that elected officials

be servants of the people.

Even those who share

no common language,

who cannot speak directly

to each other,

can forestall and resolve

the ultimate misery of

violent conflict

if the wellsprings

of their hearts are filled

with a deep love

for life itself.

You cannot claim justice

unless you exhaust

all words and actions

to prevent war—

with your last drop of strength,

to the last moment of life.

Nor can you lay claim

to the compassion

of a genuinely complete

human being.

It is a fact

that we all

must someday die.

They also, on their side,  6

will one day die.

That everyone

must someday die

is universal.

For this very reason

we should dedicate ourselves

to the enduring work

of building a world of peace

overflowing with the spirit

of happiness and compassion.

What could possibly

be the point

of a life spent

injuring oneself,

killing and harming others?

To do so only proves

the soul’s servitude

to fear.

Let today,

let this year,

blossom with spring

in the manner most appropriate

to the person

you uniquely are!