Mark Shepard Quotes

Almanacs

Satyagraha—Gandhi’s nonviolent action—was not a way for one group to seize what it wanted from another. It was not a weapon of class struggle, or of any other kind of division. Satyagraha was instead...

All my actions have their source in my inalienable love of humankind.

Other negative side-effects of violence come into view once the struggle comes to an end. For instance, violence generally leaves the two sides as long-standing enemies. Maybe the most amazing thing a...

Gandhi believed that the means of struggle a people used would shape the society that grew out of the struggle.

Salvation will not come from the legislators. Salvation will not come from the military. If there is any salvation, it will come from the people. Jayaprakash Narayan

When Satyagraha worked, both sides won.

Satyagraha was instead an instrument of unity.

Gandhi said that only people with a high regard for the law were qualified for civil disobedience.

Gandhi was not talking about defeating or overthrowing anyone. Satyagraha—Gandhi’s nonviolent action—was not a way for one group to seize what it wanted from another. It was not a weapon of class stru...

You look closely at so-called popular liberation movements, you’ll find that they’re seldom started by the peasants or workers they’re supposed to benefit. These armed struggles may gradually build wi...

Gandhi called his overall method of nonviolent action Satyagraha. This translates roughly as Truth-force.

Gandhi noted also that violent revolutions almost always end in repressive dictatorships. Once the rebel troops gain control, they naturally keep acting as they’re used to—in other words, they start r...

Plants removing carbon from the air is, in fact, how the earth’s vast coal deposits were formed.

People try nonviolence for a week, and when it ‘doesn’t work,’ they go back to violence, which hasn’t worked for centuries.

Nonviolent action, on the other hand, requires more patience because the action is less thrilling.

Already legal and political moves are being made to drain the Great Lakes as a water supply for a thirsty western region.

Former petroleum industry analyst Jan Lundberg puts it this way, The nation and most of the rest of the world is chasing a technofix instead of adjusting to ecological/economic reality.

You see, love for the victim demanded struggle, while love for the opponent ruled out doing harm. But in fact, love for the opponent likewise demanded struggle. Why? Because by hurting others, the opp...

Maybe the most amazing thing about Gandhi’s nonviolent revolution is, not that the British left, but that they left as friends, and that Britain and India became partners in the British Commonwealth.