"We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God."

Politics

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Insight & Reflection

This reflection on politics by Thomas Merton resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in politics is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Thomas Merton

Thomas Merton, religious name M. Louis, was an American Trappist monk, theologian, mystic, poet, and social activist. He was a professed member of the Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani, near Bardstown, Kentucky, living there from 1941 to his death.

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Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Thomas Merton

"By reading the scriptures I am so renewed that all nature seems renewed around me and with me. The sky seems to be a pure, a cooler blue, the trees a deeper green. The whole world is charged with the glory of God and I feel fire and music under my feet."

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"The first step toward finding God, Who is Truth, is to discover the truth about myself: and if I have been in error, this first step to truth is the discovery of my error."

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More about Politics

"What is not conservative about saying, 'Don't go to war unless we go to war properly with a full declaration of war and no other way?'"

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"He who conquers his inner doubts has already won half the war. Remember this in moments of decisive trial — an essential principle for the reflective life."

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"There is hardly such a thing as a war in which it makes no difference who wins. Nearly always one side stands more of less for progress, the other side more or less for reaction."

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