Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of

Dorothy Thompson, the fearless journalist who raised her voice against tyranny in the dark days of the twentieth century, gave us this luminous truth: “Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of creative alternatives for responding to conflict—alternatives to passive or aggressive responses, alternatives to violence.” In these words, she tears away the shallow idea that peace is mere stillness, the silence of fear, or the calm of oppression. She reveals instead that true peace is active, dynamic, and wise—a harmony born not from denial of struggle, but from the art of meeting struggle without hatred.

When she declares that peace is not the absence of conflict, she confronts one of the oldest illusions of mankind: that if strife is hidden or silenced, peace has been achieved. Yet history shows us that beneath the surface of forced silence, tensions smolder like embers beneath ash, ready to burst into flame. Peace cannot be built on suppression, nor on the trembling quiet of submission. It is not the void left by battle’s end, but the presence of a higher way of living together.

The heart of her wisdom lies in the presence of creative alternatives. Here we find the call to courage, for it is easier to lash out in anger or to shrink back in fear than to craft new paths of understanding. To be passive is to surrender dignity; to be aggressive is to destroy the dignity of another. But to be creative in response is to honor both self and other, to shape possibilities where none seemed to exist. Such creativity requires imagination, patience, and love—it is not weakness, but the highest form of strength.

History offers us shining examples. Think of Mahatma Gandhi, who in the face of empire chose not the sword of violence, nor the chains of submission, but the path of nonviolent resistance. His was a creative alternative: to fight injustice with steadfast refusal, to break tyranny with the force of moral truth. Through marches, boycotts, and the unyielding courage of ordinary people, he transformed conflict into a revolution of conscience. This was not absence of conflict, but a higher way of meeting it—a path of peace that reshaped the destiny of nations.

Consider also Nelson Mandela, who after decades of imprisonment, could have emerged bitter, demanding vengeance against his oppressors. Yet he chose another way: reconciliation, forgiveness, and dialogue. He offered a new vision for South Africa, where conflict did not vanish but was transformed by creativity and courage. His peace was not born of silence, but of new responses to old wounds—responses that gave both dignity and hope to his people.

Dorothy Thompson’s words remind us also that violence is not inevitable. For too long, humanity has believed that when conflict arises, blood must follow. Yet peace is not found in denying the reality of struggle, but in seeking paths that affirm life rather than destroy it. Every human heart, every community, faces conflicts—between generations, between nations, between neighbors. The challenge is to create alternatives: dialogue instead of domination, compromise instead of conquest, forgiveness instead of fury.

The lesson for us is clear: cultivate creativity in conflict. In your daily life, when quarrels arise, resist the temptation to lash out or to retreat in silence. Seek instead a third way, one that honors both truth and relationship. Ask not, “How can I win this battle?” but, “How can we both walk away with dignity intact?” This is the seed of true peace, whether in households or in the councils of nations.

So, O listener, remember Dorothy Thompson’s wisdom: peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of creative alternatives. Let your mind be fertile with new responses, your heart strong enough to resist hatred, your spirit courageous enough to imagine better paths. For when violence is rejected and creativity embraced, then peace ceases to be a fragile illusion, and becomes instead a living reality—one strong enough to endure the storms of human strife and to carry mankind closer to harmony.