And yet, I do not believe that we will have the will, or the staying power, to complete this work without something more - and that is the continued expansion of our moral imagination; an insistence that there is something irreducible that we all share.For most of history, this concept of just war was rarely observed.
And yet this truth must coexist with another - that no matter how justified, war promises human tragedy. We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend. More and more, we all confront difficult questions about how to prevent the slaughter of civilians by their own government, or to stop a civil war whose violence and suffering can engulf an entire region.But it is also incumbent upon all of us to insist that nations like Iran and North Korea do not game the system. But I also know this: the belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it. Can We Help with Your Assignment?In December of 1950, William Faulkner was awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature, his acceptance speech titled “The Writer’s Duty”.
It does not exist where children cannot aspire to a decent education or a job that supports a family. We will bear witness to the quiet dignity of reformers like Aung Sang Suu Kyi; to the bravery of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face of beatings; to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently through the streets of Iran. One thing that Faulkner did exceptionally well was appeal to his audience’s emotions and ethics. As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King's life's work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence.
Those regimes that break the rules must be held accountable.
Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: the United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms. Even as we make difficult decisions about going to war, we must also think clearly about how we fight it. British playwright Harold Pinter, this year’s Nobel laureate for literature, delivered a passionate, truthful and courageous acceptance speech to …
At times, this is joined by a reflexive suspicion of America, the world's sole military superpower.I reject this choice. These extremists are not the first to kill in the name of God; the cruelties of the Crusades are amply recorded. And it will require us to think in new ways about the notions of just war and the imperatives of a just peace. I am committed to upholding this treaty.
For true peace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want.Let me also say this: the promotion of human rights cannot be about exhortation alone. America has never fought a war against a democracy, and our closest friends are governments that protect the rights of their citizens. But war itself is never glorious, and we must never trumpet it as such.A decade into a new century, this old architecture is buckling under the weight of new threats.
In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. War, in one form or another, appeared with the first man.