When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.
TUTU DESMONDForgiveness does not relieve someone of responsibility for what they have done. Forgiveness does not erase accountability. It is not about turning a blind eye or even turning the other cheek.
More Tutu Desmond Quotes
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Discovering more joy does not, save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak.
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Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.
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We need other human beings in order to be human. I am because other people are. A person is entitled to a stable community life, and the first of these communities is the family.
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Religion is like a knife: you can either use it to cut bread, or stick in someone’s back.
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Transformation begins in you, wherever you are, whatever has happened, however you are suffering. Transformation is always possible.
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We learn from history that we don’t learn from history.
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Much depends on your attitude. If you are filled with negative judgment and anger, then you will feel separate from other people. You will feel lonely.
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Human beings are actually created for the transcendent, for the sublime, for the beautiful, for the truthful, and all of us are given the task of trying to make this world a little more hospitable to these beautiful things.
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I do believe there are monstrous and evil acts, but I do not believe those who commit such acts are monsters or evil.
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Like when you sit in front of a fire in winter — you are just there in front of the fire. You don’t have to be smart or anything. The fire warms you.
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There is nothing more difficult than waking someone who is only pretending to be asleep.
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Dear Child of God, I write these words because we all experience sadness, we all come at times to despair, and we all lose hope that the suffering in our lives and in the world will ever end.
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If you want to keep people subjugated, the last thing you place in their hands is a Bible. There’s nothing more radical, nothing more revolutionary, nothing more subversive against injustice and oppression than the Bible.
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If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.
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Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.
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