Quotes by Oscar Arias

Oscar Arias

Action had to be taken in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, but I am very concerned about the current administration’s rhetoric and apparent zeal to expand military action to other places. I’m afraid that terrorism is being used as an excuse, not only for possible military action in such places as Iraq, Iran, and the Philippines, but also for exorbitant increases in defense spending that have nothing to do with terrorism.

Military

September 11

Taken

For ages the world has been living by the stupidity of an old Roman adage that says if you want peace, prepare for war. As if anything said in ancient times must be wise, people have used this phrase to justify some of the most unjustifiable arms build-ups, which, far from creating peace, has only become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

People

War

Wise

Hope is the strongest driving force for a people. Hope which brings about change, which produces new realities, is what opens man’s road to freedom.

Freedom

Men

Reality

Hope is the strongest driving force for a people. Hope which brings about change, which produces new realities, is what opens man’s road to freedom. Once hope has taken hold, courage must unite with wisdom. That is the only way of avoiding violence, the only way of maintaining the calm one needs to respond peacefully to offenses.

Courage

Freedom

Wisdom

How ironic for peacemaking efforts to discover that hatred is stronger for many than love; that the longing to achieve power through military victories makes so many men lose their reason, forget all shame, and betray history.

Effort

Men

Military

I am constantly challenged by pessimists who insist that military solutions are the only way to go. This was true in the 1980s, and it is true today. You should know that I do not consider myself a pacifist; there are times, in my view, when military action may be necessary.

Action

Military

Today

I am not a pacifist, however I do believe that the U.S. tends to resort to force too quickly. I am not referring only to the current administration; the same thing happened in the Balkans, and on other occasions.

Believe

Pacifist

Things Happen

I cannot accept that to be realistic means to tolerate misery, violence and hate. I do not believe that the hungry man should be treated as subversive for expressing his suffering. I shall never accept that the law can be used to justify tragedy, to keep things as they are, to make us abandon our ideas of a different world. Law is the path of liberty, and must as such open the way to progress for everyone.

Believe

Hate

Mean

I have to believe in the possibility of peace, because the alternative is to accept the inevitability of continual war, and of always living in fear. It doesn’t have to be that way. However, there are no simple solutions, and I am not the possessor of a magic formula for peace. All I can say is that for peace to succeed it requires perseverance, patience, humility, compromise, and commitment, from all parties.

Party

Perseverance

War

I would like to see the U.S. fighting another war, perhaps in addition to that against terror: a war on poverty, illiteracy, disease and environmental degradation. It is certainly within the power of your country to act on all of these fronts, but, unfortunately, your leaders have become obsessed with a single issue.

Country

Fighting

War

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Action

Attitude

Believe

Children

Common Humanity

Common Sense

Confused

Country

Courage

Differences

Dream

Earth

Effort

Facts

Fighting

Freedom

Good Hearted

Hard Work

Hate

Heart

Human Rights

Interest

Justice

Kindness

Mean

Men

Military

Motivation

Nuclear

Nuclear Disarmament

Pacifist

Party

Past

Peace

People

Perseverance

Persons

Political

Preparation

Problem

Race

Reality

Reason

Responsibility

Revenge

September 11

Soul

Taken

Teacher

Things Happen

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Quotes by Oscar Arias

Oscar Arias

Hope is the strongest driving force for a people. Hope which brings about change, which produces new realities, is what opens man’s road to freedom.

How ironic for peacemaking efforts to discover that hatred is stronger for many than love; that the longing to achieve power through military victories makes so many men lose their reason, forget all shame, and betray history.

I am constantly challenged by pessimists who insist that military solutions are the only way to go. This was true in the 1980s, and it is true today. You should know that I do not consider myself a pacifist; there are times, in my view, when military action may be necessary.

I am not a pacifist, however I do believe that the U.S. tends to resort to force too quickly. I am not referring only to the current administration; the same thing happened in the Balkans, and on other occasions.

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The Home Therapist: Anti Anxiety

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The Behaviour Diary

The Dating Diary

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