On today’s date in 1989, the Dalai Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for his nonviolent campaign to end the Chinese domination in Tibet. He accepted the prize on December 10th of that year, saying, in part:

I accept the prize with profound gratitude on behalf of the oppressed everywhere and for all those who struggle for freedom and work for world peace. I accept it as a tribute to the man who founded the modern tradition of nonviolent action for change – Mahatma Gandhi – whose life taught and inspired me. And, of course, I accept it on behalf of the six million Tibetan people, my brave countrymen and women inside Tibet, who have suffered and continue to suffer so much.

No matter what part of the world we come from, we are all basically the same human beings. We all seek happiness and try to avoid suffering. We have the same basic human needs and concerns. All of us human beings want freedom and the right to determine our own destiny as individuals and as peoples. That is human nature.

You don’t often hear kids saying, “some day, I want to grow up to win the Nobel Peace Prize,” and that’s too bad. It’s pretty easy to get angry these days – there are lots of things to be angry about. But maybe we ought to try to be better than that.

It might seem that the only way to combat the hatred and violence of those who run this world is with even stronger hatred and violence, but what do you wind up with if you “win,” except a smoking ruin of a world filled with death and rage? I dunno. Just sayin’.