Oral Histories: Veterans and Peacebuilders
"I think the hardest thing is always to have some respect and appreciation for where people are coming from. Even when you see there need to be changes and even when you have some ideas about types of changes, if you don’t have any respect where they’re starting from, you can’t help them move forward."
"If we disagree that’s fine, but I think it’s important that we are talking about the things that are going on in this country, seeing where other people stand, and sharing our ideas the way we perceive it to create some sort of solidarity. That’s the only way peace is going to be built. Is communicating with one another and coming to some sort of understanding of other people’s view points and learning from one another."
"Difference is extremely important because without it we would all be the same and we not learn and grow from others, so we would remain stagnant. We get very comfortable in our safe ruts, but difference is needed to promote conflict which, in turn, pushes us to make changes we wouldn't make otherwise when we are comfortable and safe."
Look for Oral Histories of Veterans and Peacebuilders posted to this page in mid-May. These Oral Histories were compiled by students at Guilford College in classes on Ethics, Social Change and Peacebuilding.