One is frequently assured by men who have no doubt of their own wisdom that old age should bring serenity and a larger vision in which seeming evils are viewed as means to ultimate good. I cannot accept any such view. Serenity, in the present world, can only be achieved through blindness or brutality.
Source: The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, v.3.
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* a brief comment:
Many people come to feel, as they grow older, that they would like to spend their later years peacefully, without being overly concerned about trivial matters. Of course, what age one considers to be "old" varies from person to person. For example, some may think of it as the time after mandatory retirement when one begins living on a pension; others may think of it as beginning at the age of 70; still others may associate it with turning 75 and becoming officially classified as "late elderly." In short, people's perceptions differ.
In Bertrand Russell's case, however, he remained concerned with world affairs until his death. Whenever he felt involvement was necessary, he took action. He also founded two organizations, the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation and the Atlantic Peace Foundation, and dedicated himself to the cause of world peace and to helping those in vulnerable positions.
That said, as Russell aged, he too increasingly desired a peaceful retirement. He maintained a country home in rural North Wales, spending most of his time there except when work required him to be in London. (Note: In 1953, at the age of 81, Russell purchased a four-storey house in the suburbs of London, allowing his eldest son's family to use the first and second floors.)
Russell died at his home in Plas Penrhyn, North Wales, on February 2, 1970 (British time), at the age of approximately 97 years and 10 months. His final message, dated February 1, 1970, addressed to the International Conference of Parliamentarians in Cairo (February 1970), remains striking even today in its insight into the Palestinian issue.
* His final message, dated February 1, 1970, addressed to the International Conference of Parliamentarians in Cairo (February 1970)
The tragedy of the people of Palestine is that their country was “given” by a foreign Power to another people for the creation of a new State. The result was that many hundreds of thousands of innocent people were made permanently homeless. With every new conflict their number have increased. How much longer is the world willing to endure this spectacle of wanton cruelty? It is abundantly clear that the refugees have every right to the homeland from which they were driven, and the denial of this right is at the heart of the continuing conflict. No people anywhere in the world would accept being expelled en masse from their own country; how can anyone require the people of Palestine to accept a punishment which nobody else would tolerate? A permanent just settlement of the refugees in their homeland is an essential ingredient of any genuine settlement in the Middle East.
We are frequently told that we must sympathize with Israel because of the suffering of the Jews in Europe at the hands of the Nazis. I see in this suggestion no reason to perpetuate any suffering. What Israel is doing today cannot be condoned, and to invoke the horrors of the past to justify those of the present is gross hypocrisy. Not only does Israel condemn a vast number. of refugees to misery; not only are many Arabs under occupation condemned to military rule; but also Israel condemns the Arab nations only recently emerging from colonial status, to continued impoverishment as military demands take precedence over national development.
All who want to see an end to bloodshed in the Middle East must ensure that any settlement does not contain the seeds of future conflict. Justice requires that the first step towards a settlement must be an Israeli withdrawal from all the territories occupied in June, 1967.
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