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Whether one believes in evolution, intelligent design, or Divine Creation, one thing is certain. Since the beginning of history, human beings have been at war with each other, under the pretext of religion, ideology, ethnicity and other reasons. And no civilization has ever willingly given up its most powerful weapons. We seem to agree today that we can share modern technology, but we still refuse to acknowledge that our values - at their very core - are shared values.

Mohamed ElBaradei#25

WarHumanityValuesIdeologyUnity

About this quote

What does it mean?
Human conflict persists across ideologies despite shared values, and technology alone cannot solve this divide.
In plain terms
Wars continue because we ignore shared values.
What can you take from it?
Shared values must be acknowledged to reduce conflict.

Where it applies

  • international relations
  • political debate
  • community conflict

Putting it to work

  • focus on common ground
  • promote dialogue
  • challenge divisive rhetoric

Questions to consider

  • What shared values do you overlook?
  • How can we prioritize unity over difference?

Another view

Acknowledging shared values does not always stop violence.

More from Mohamed ElBaradei

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  2. I am an Egyptian Muslim, educated in Cairo and New York, and now living in Vienna. My wife and I have spent half our lives in the North, half in the South. And…

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  3. A good start would be if the nuclear-weapon states reduced the strategic role given to these weapons. More than 15 years after the end of the Cold War, it is i…

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