February 10

Author

David Barnhart
February 10, 2025

Fig leaves, 2016. Birmingham, Alabama.

Today marks the death, in 1968, of Pitrim Sorokin, a Russian-born sociologist who, among other things, studied altruism, values, and social conflict. He was an anti-communist who was exiled from his home country. He was heavily influenced by Leo Tolstoy, and was friends with W.E.B. Dubois. Along with Albert Einstein and other prominent thinkers, he promoted the idea of a World Constitution that would help ensure peace and mediate conflict.

Today also marks the birthday, in 1910, of Brother Dominique Pire, a Dominican friar who dedicated his life to helping refugees and addressing economic inequality. His own family experienced displacement from Belgium when he was a child during World War I. After the Second World War, he established a foundation to help resettle displaced persons. He also founded the University of Peace, dedicated to conflict resolution, and Islands of Peace, focused on sustainable food and economic development that will lead to lasting peace. 

Reflection: 

Dominique Pire said: 

“Let us not speak of tolerance. This negative word implies grudging concessions by smug consciences. Rather, let us speak of mutual understanding and mutual respect.  There is perhaps no surer road to peace than the one that starts from little islands and oases of genuine kindness, islands and oases constantly growing in number and being continually joined together until eventually they ring the world.”

Pitrim Sorokin said: 

“Only the power of unbounded love practiced in regard to all human beings can defeat the forces of interhuman strife, and can prevent the pending extermination of man by man on this planet. Without love, no armament, no war, no diplomatic machinations, no coercive police force, no school education, no economic or political measures, not even hydrogen bombs can prevent the pending catastrophe.”

Prayer: God whose very nature is love, let us not cheapen the word “love” with condescension, paternalism, or exclusivism. Let us experience and give the kind of love that changes worlds, relationships, and power structures. Amen.