Compassionate Activism Quotes

True generosity consists precisely in fighting to destroy the causes which nourish false charity.

...the moving spirit of militancy is deep and abiding reverence for human life.

I have started using the expression 'compassionate activism': It's about keeping my heart open so that I can understand the point of view of the other person.

I'm thinking of love in action and not something where you say, "Love your enemies," and just leave it at that, but you love your enemies to the point that you're willing to sit-in at a lunch counter in order to help them find themselves. You're willing to go to jail.

Speaking of important things, there are so many battles right now that people are fighting for that it's overwhelming, but I am always in favor of people who crusade for the sake of people's hearts and their well-being. That is what is important.

I have been true to the principles of nonviolence, developing a stronger and stronger aversion to the ideologies of both the far right and the far left and a deeper sense of rage and sorrow over the suffering they continue to produce all over the world.

The cross to me is complete nonviolence because Jesus said, "Love your enemy. Do not kill." I realized that I could never kill anyone or hurt anyone, but I was committed to trying to bring about social and political and economic change.

The true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.

There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible.

There's no reason to be non-violent. There's no challenge unless you are living for people.

When we talked about Socrates, we saw how dangerous it could be to appeal to people's reason. With Jesus we see how dangerous it can be to demand unconditional forgiveness. Even in the world of today, we can see how mighty powers can come apart at the seams when confronted with simple demands for peace, love, food for the poor, and amnesty for the enemies of the state.

Even when they call us mad, when they call us subversives and communists and all the epithets they put on us, we know we only preach the subversive witness of the Beatitudes, which have turned everything upside down.

If we remain nonviolent, hatred will die as everything does from disuse.

One is called to live nonviolently, even if the change one works for seems impossible.

I think it's important not to view Martin Luther King Jr. in a narrow political manner. His fundamental commitment is to a radical love of humanity, and especially of poor and working people. And that radical love leads him to a radical analysis of power, domination and oppression. What's difficult is to situate him ideologically under a particular category.

This is the philosophy of nonviolence that I have learned from Gandhi, Bacha Khan and Mother Teresa.

Miley [Cyrus] is so sweet. In this generation - and I know because I have two teenage boys - they don't really have to care about things. It's kind of a desensitized generation. I'm so impressed that she's really vegan and outspoken about animal welfare.

I am a woman that defends animals, right, left, and in the centre. Animals aren't political.

If you give yourself totally to the nonviolence struggle for peace and justice you also find that people give you their hearts and you will never go hungry and never be alone.

I think one big thing about the United States is that the American population, they may be excited about Iraq or one thing or another, but basically has had a great deal of interest in humanitarian causes both within the country and abroad. Even when they criticize the mechanism to which it flows.

The age looks steadily to the redressing of wrong, to the righting of every form of error and injustice; and a tireless and prying philanthropy, which is almost omniscient, is one of the most hopeful characteristics of the time.

My point is you can fight racism and sexism and homophobia more effectively if you're doing it from the position that you're standing for the dignity of all people, and that you're actually standing for the underdog in the red states and the blue states. I think it's more effective when you're anti-racism and anti-sexism and anti-homophobia and that is the centerpiece for a project to uplift all humanity, and frankly to defend and uplift the children of all species.