"Where is the justice of political power if it executes the murderer and jails the plunderer, and then itself marches upon neighboring lands, killing thousands and pillaging the very hills?"

This quote by Kahlil Gibran is a criticism of the hypocrisy of political power. He questions the justice of a system that penalizes bad guys for their misdeeds, yet allows those in power to commit comparable atrocities on a much bigger scale. He is explaining the double requirement of penalizing people for their misbehaviors, while enabling those in power to commit similar acts without consequence. He is likewise highlighting the destructive results of war, such as the killing of thousands of innocent people and the destruction of their homes and land. This quote works as a suggestion that those in power ought to be held to the exact same standards as everybody else, and that war must only be utilized as a last resort.