Great Leaders

Great leaders who used nonviolence and still attained their goals

Benjamin Franklin (inventor, philosopher, poltician, American founding father)
There never was a good war or a bad peace.
Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.”
(Implying that there must be a strong Constitution and that democracy by itself is not enough to prevent the tyranny from governments or even the majority of the people.)

Mahatma Gandhi (attorney, leader for India’s independence)

Gandhi brought down a whole empire (British) without firing a single bullet. He used civil disobedience and rallied support to obtain independence for India.

Gandhi quote: “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (civil rights leader, noble peace prize winner)

Dr. King studied the writings of Gandhi and patterned himself after Gandhi’s example in securing civil rights for people of color in the U.S.

Quote for Dr. King:

“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction…. The chain reaction of evil’s hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.”