King Hussein of Jordan Quotes (7 Quotes)

One of the most dramatic examples of the gaps between the world's technological progress and moral rectitude is nuclear weapons. The material tools of destruction have become so powerful that the world now lives under the constant shadow of total annihilation. The stakes are enormous, and mistakes never carried a higher risk. It is no longer a question of self-defense. It is a question of self-preservation. Nuclear war is not a military problem. It is a moral dilemma. The nuclear race involves not only a negation of law, but a negation of morality. The problem cannot be solved by practical expediency. Its only resolution lies in the application of the moral imperatives on which our religions and your nation was founded. This problem will be one of your generations' greatest challenges. How well equipped you are to handle it will determine your destiny.

The dilemma of our age is the combination of unprecedented material progress and systematic spiritual decline. The decline in public and private morality can be witnessed in the marketplace as well as the forums of international diplomacy. In the past, a man's honor and reputation were his most valuable assets. Business agreements were made with a handshake. Today one might be well advised to check the 'bottom line' and read the 'small print.'

I have found in my experience that expediency, whether it is practical or not, is an unreliable guide for behavior. Human behavior must be guided by a higher principle. Practicality has its place but only within a framework of values, which all men of good will share.

It should not be strange that the values cherished by all the three major religions are the same, since they originate from a common source. For example, Islam, the predominant religion in the Middle East, accepts as an integral part of its religious teachings both the Old and the New Testaments. If this commonality of moral traditions among the world's major religions does not say something about the universality of religion, it does say something about the universality of mankind....

One of the great challenges you will face is that a part of the world, and some in it, do not have or do not believe in a standard of moral values. Many in the world today operate on the basis of practical expediency. You have undoubtedly observed this yourselves. It has become a philosophy of life for many. This is true among nations as well as among individuals.

Americans can also look to their own heritage for the standard of values of which I speak. Your Declaration of Independence contains a powerful but simple statement of principle which, if applied today, would revolutionize the world. 'All men are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' This is the most profound curtailment of the power of government and rulers and the most legitimate rationale for the universal rights of man that I have ever seen enunciated in such few words. Your system of jurisprudence and your Bill of Rights are derived from moral principles which enshrine the sanctity of life and all that this conveys in a political society....

I have become convinced the hard way that the only reliable guideposts for responsible and respectable conduct, including foreign policy formulations and international relations, is a true composite of morality, legality and reality. When this trio is not in harmony, policies and actions go askew, contrary to popular pragmatic precepts. I have discovered that moral sense and common sense are not mutually exclusive. As a practical matter they are synonymous indeed. Unprincipled policies are ultimately and inherently impractical. The sooner one learns that simple lesson, the simpler one's life becomes.