“When we speak of peace, we must speak also of justice. For peace is not only the absence of war. Peace must be more. We cannot, as Tacitus said, create a desert and call it peace. Peace must mean not only the absence of war among governments, but also the creation of social justice among peoples.”
Our Quote of the Week highlights the indispensable role that justice has in establishing a peaceful society.
Sargent Shriver spoke these words while he was candidate for Vice President in the 1972 US Presidential election. Running on the George McGovern ticket, he laid out a vision for a new administration that would lead with morality and purpose, embarking on an international “quest for peace,” as the title of the speech indicates. It is extraordinary to think about a Presidential platform that should be based on peacebuilding and be underpinned by justice, but as we head towards another election in 2020, we can certainly appreciate the stance.
An attorney by profession, Sargent Shriver looked at social and political issues using the lens of justice. From his quest to desegregate schools in Chicago in the 1950s, to the creation of the Peace Corps and the War on Poverty programs in the 1960s (the latter of which included a program that was devoted exclusively to justice -- poverty law), and even in his work as a private citizen, Sargent Shriver consistently adhered to a fundamental principle: that without justice for all, there can be no peace.
We invite you to reflect on how our Quote of the Week serves as the backdrop for many of our headlines today. From the protests about racism and police brutality to the inequities in public health during the COVID-19 pandemic to the ways in which we manage our elections, the actions we take to deal with all of these will be determined by our sense of justice.
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