“God's dream is that you and I and all of us will realize that we are family, that we are made for togetherness, for goodness, and for compassion.”
Family
“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.”
HistoryAll Quotes by Desmond Tutu
“Do your little bit of good where you are its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”
Good“We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.”
God“Your ordinary acts of love and hope point to the extraordinary promise that every human life is of inestimable value.”
Hope“If you want peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.”
Peace“When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land.”
Religion“In South Africa, we could not have achieved our freedom and just peace without the help of people around the world, who through the use of non-violent means, such as boycotts and divestment, encouraged their governments and other corporate actors to reverse decades-long support for the Apartheid regime.”
Freedom“Peace comes when you talk to the guy you most hate. And that's where the courage of a leader comes, because when you sit down with your enemy, you as a leader must already have very considerable confidence from your own constituency.”
Courage“Because forgiveness is like this: a room can be dank because you have closed the windows, you've closed the curtains. But the sun is shining outside, and the air is fresh outside. In order to get that fresh air, you have to get up and open the window and draw the curtains apart.”
Forgiveness“In God's family, there are no outsiders, no enemies.”
Family“It is our moral obligation to give every child the very best education possible.”
Best“You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.”
Family“Isn't it amazing that we are all made in God's image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people?”
Amazing“The God who existed before any religion counts on you to make the oneness of the human family known and celebrated.”
Family“I mean in the South African case, many of those who were part of death squads would have been respectable members of their white community, people who went to church on Sunday, every Sunday.”
Death“Forgiveness says you are given another chance to make a new beginning.”
Forgiveness“I am a leader by default, only because nature does not allow a vacuum.”
Nature“Exclusion is never the way forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice.”
Freedom“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.”
History“Universal education is not only a moral imperative but an economic necessity, to pave the way toward making many more nations self-sufficient and self-sustaining.”
Education