The Pursuit of Peace in a Changing World

Quotes from Speakers at Summit Council events

A troubling phenomenon of our time is the moral degradation of the personality. Spiritual values are being lost, which makes normal human life impossible. We have reached an ideological crisis: neither communist nor liberal systems are able to propose a sensible way out of our predicament. In a word, we are talking about a global, multi-faceted crisis. The very meaning of development is placed in question. We need a new paradigm of existence.

H.E. Mikhail Gorbachev
General Secretary, CPSU (1985-91) and President, USSR (1990-91)

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I have one serious concern about the future and that is the breakdown, the disintegration of the family I believe that if we can reverse this disturbing trend - family breaking up, teenage pregnancies, and children left to fend for themselves in a tough, cruel world. If we can do those things, then we can wipe out problems such as drug abuse and violent crime. Those two alone are a cancer on our society. If I could go back as president and do one thing - wave a magic wand - this would be the area I would concentrate. It would be to find ways to strengthen the family.

Hon. George H.W. Bush
President, USA (1989-93)

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I put my faith in faith itself. At the end of a century which has severely tested our humanity, it should be obvious to all that there is a higher power, one who guides our conscience, restrains our passions, and raises us above the level of mere existence. As a young man on a foreign battlefield I came to realize that no man is an island, and that in the modern