Desmond Tutu

“Forgiving is not forgetting; its actually remembering--remembering and not using your right to hit back. Its a second chance for a new beginning. And the remembering part is particularly important.”

“Life is more than breath and a heartbeat; meaning and purpose are the life of life."
(p.75 Made For Goodness: And Why that Makes All the Difference)

“We must be ready to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God.”

“A life of wholeness does not depend on what we experience. Wholeness depends on how we experience our lives.”

“To forgive is not just to be altruistic.”

“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.”

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

“Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another.”

"A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons.

"Children are a wonderful gift. They have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are.

"Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.

"I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights."

"There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African understanding is far more restorative - not so much to punish as to redress or restore a balance that has been knocked askew."

"Resentment and anger are bad for your blood pressure and your digestion."

"Without forgiveness there can be no future for a relationship between individuals or within and between nations."

"South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world."

“My father always used to say, "Don't raise your voice. Improve your argument." Good sense does not always lie with the loudest shouters, nor can we say that a large, unruly crowd is always the best arbiter of what is right.”

“Differences are not intended to separate, to alienate. We are different precisely in order to realize our need of one another.”

“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.”

“We learn from history that we don't learn from history!”

“Don't raise your voice, improve your argument.”

“Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.”

“Though wrong gratifies in the moment, good yields its gifts over a lifetime.”

“A person is a person through other persons; you can't be human in isolation; you are human only in relationships.”

“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring.”

Clare Zhou Jacquelyn Ho Linda Qin Why We Chose Archbishop Tutu Works Cited