War & Peace Quote by Alcee Hastings

Hastings is doing coalition politics in the key of civility: a deliberately expansive roll call of religions that turns pluralism into something like common sense. The list is the point. By naming Christians and Jews first, then widening to Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and “many other religions,” he’s both acknowledging America’s traditional religious center of gravity and nudging it outward, normalizing a broader spiritual map without scolding the old one. It’s an inclusion move that’s meant to feel nonthreatening.

The subtext is defensive as much as aspirational. When a politician insists that Muslims (and others) share “peace, respect, tolerance and dignity,” he’s not merely praising them; he’s countering a suspicion that they don’t. The quote is built to pre-empt the culture-war reflex that treats certain faiths as incompatible with “our values.” Hastings smuggles in a quiet rebuke: if you oppose your neighbor’s religion, you’re opposing the very virtues you claim to protect.

The rhetoric also sidesteps theology by focusing on “values” - portable, secular-friendly language that can travel across denominations and into public policy. “Responsible and solid communities” signals the real endgame: social cohesion, civic trust, and the legitimacy of a diverse electorate. It’s a hopeful frame, but also a strategic one, asking listeners to trade identity anxiety for a sturdier patriotism: belonging defined less by creed than by conduct.