PRACTICAL WISDOM

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) was a British philosopher; at the

same time he was a peace activist. At the end of the WWI, he

had been imprisoned for six months for participating in antiwar

protest. This would not be his last time in prison for his pacifist

stances. In 1961, three years after founding the Campaign for Nuclear

Disarmament, he was in jail for one week in connection with antinuclear

protests.

This street demonstration by Russell created media furore. He and

the protestors were able to supply temporary news for the media,

but in terms of the required result, it was totally a non-event. Russell

and his colleagues were successful in registering protest, but they

were unsuccessful in changing the course of events. There have been

countless similar protests and demonstrations throughout the world

which have proved largely ineffective.

The issue of peace is not a matter of street demonstration. Peace

requires change in people’s thinking. Without intellectual change, it is

impossible to bring about change in the real situation.

There is a dictum adopted by UNESCO: ‘Violence begins from the mind.’

The same is true for the issue of peace. Peace begins from the mind.

Anyone who wants to establish peace must adopt the right beginning.

The right beginning for this purpose is the human mind, and not

the streets.

Then, the object of peace cannot be attained through any kind of

short-term planning. It requires long-term planning. Anyone who

wants to see a peaceful world must adopt long-term planning. Longterm

planning requires patience, and it is a fact that any substantial

achievement can be had only through patient planning 

and not simply through emotional outbursts.