--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Ultimately, suffering is always political…" description: "\"Ultimately, suffering is always political with all kinds of justifications - there are those who justify Israel's occupation of land as being a fulfill..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/desmond-tutu-442_all-kinds_ultimately-suffering-is-always-political_2349286.jpg" --- # Ultimately, suffering is always political with all kinds… ![“Ultimately, suffering is always political with all kinds of justifications - there are those who justify Israel's occupation of land as being a fulfillment of what God had promised.” quote by Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/desmond-tutu-442_all-kinds_ultimately-suffering-is-always-political_2349286.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/desmond-tutu-442_all-kinds_ultimately-suffering-is-always-political_2349286.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/desmond-tutu-442_all-kinds_ultimately-suffering-is-always-political_2349286.jpg) > “Ultimately, suffering is always political with all kinds of justifications - there are those who justify Israel's occupation of land as being a fulfillment of what God had promised.” [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suffering is politicized when religious narratives are used to justify oppression, such as territorial claims. **In simple terms:** Religion can justify political oppression. Key Takeaway Question narratives that excuse injustice. Themes politics religion justice Mood urgent hopeful Type political ethical When to use this quote - policy analysis - activism - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts ethics human rights Questions to Reflect On - How do we separate faith from political agendas? - What alternative narratives can promote peace? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex geopolitics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fulfillment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fulfillment/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Justification](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justification/) [Justifications](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justifications/) [Occupation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occupation/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [The zionist argument to justify Israel's present occupation of Arab Palestine has no intelligent or legal basis in history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/the-zionist-argument-to-justify-israel-s-present-occupation-of-arab/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Religion has run out of justifications. Thanks to the telescope and the microscope, it no longer offers an explanation of anything important. Where once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-has-run-out-of-justifications-thanks-to-the-telescope-and/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [A psychoneurosis must be understood, ultimately, as the suffering of a soul which has not discovered its meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/a-psychoneurosis-must-be-understood-ultimately-as-the-suffering-of-a/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [We are social animals. Others' suffering is ultimately your suffering; their happiness is ultimately your happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/we-are-social-animals-others-suffering-is-ultimately-your-suffering/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Human suffering is not, nor should it ever be, a political issue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-regan/human-suffering-is-not-nor-should-it-ever-be-a-political-issue/) [Trish Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trish-regan/) > [Governor Romney is suffering from political amnesia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/governor-romney-is-suffering-from-political-amnesia/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [Jewish suffering is also a political factor, and whoever says that Hitler diminished our strength, is not telling the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david/jewish-suffering-is-also-a-political-factor-and-whoever-says-that/) [David](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david/) > [“Reason is an outcome of frailty and resentment. When Will fails to cope with the labour of life, or the life of labour, its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/reason-is-an-outcome-of-frailty-and-resentment-when-will-fails-to/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [“Why' questions have little value, at best they get justifications or long explanations which do nothing to change the situation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-seymour/why-questions-have-little-value-at-best-they-get-justifications-or/) [John Seymour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-seymour/) > [“Most people are not prepared to have their minds changed," he said. "And I think they know in their hearts that other people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-m-banks/most-people-are-not-prepared-to-have-their-minds-changed-he-said-and/) [Iain M. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-m-banks/) > [“When civilians are not asked to pay any price, it's easy to be at war - not just to intervene in a foreign land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/when-civilians-are-not-asked-to-pay-any-price-it-s-easy-to-be-at-war/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [There are many justifications of silence; there can be none of insincerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-henry-lewes/there-are-many-justifications-of-silence-there-can-be-none-of/) [George Henry Lewes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-henry-lewes/) > [“A person who is seeking to feel justification for some action might move from “What you’ve done angers me” to “What you’ve done is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-de-becker/a-person-who-is-seeking-to-feel-justification-for-some-action-might/) [Gavin de Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-de-becker/) > [“The justifications for eating animals and for not eating them are often identical: we are not them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnathan-safran-foer/the-justifications-for-eating-animals-and-for-not-eating-them-are/) [Johnathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnathan-safran-foer/) > [“What does it matter if another player, your friend or rival, intended good things and had only your interests at heart, if the effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/what-does-it-matter-if-another-player-your-friend-or-rival-intended/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) ## More by Desmond Tutu > [Each of us is precious to God because each of us has their name written on the palms of God's hands. And God says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/each-of-us-is-precious-to-god-because-each-of-us-has-their-name/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/freedom-and-liberty-lose-out-by-default-because-good-people-are-not/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [We shall be free only together, black and white. We shall survive only together, black and white. We can be human only together, black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-shall-be-free-only-together-black-and-white-we-shall-survive-only/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Many people would be surprised that, in fact, I'm quite shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/many-people-would-be-surprised-that-in-fact-i-m-quite-shy/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Too many people think that reconciliation means you soft-pedal differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/too-many-people-think-that-reconciliation-means-you-soft-pedal/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Every situation of justice is an occasion where someone is being humiliated and they want to restore their dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/every-situation-of-justice-is-an-occasion-where-someone-is-being/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Race should not be used to claim privileges and rights for one group, exclusively, which are denied other different groups. Then that is an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/race-should-not-be-used-to-claim-privileges-and-rights-for-one-group/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [People are able to justify immense cruelty and say that it is something that is sanctioned by their faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/people-are-able-to-justify-immense-cruelty-and-say-that-it-is/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [South Africa, so utterly improbably, is a beacon of hope in a dark and troubled world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/south-africa-so-utterly-improbably-is-a-beacon-of-hope-in-a-dark-and/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [I don't often want to speak. I try to be a reasonable person and to be diplomatic, but you go to that place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/i-don-t-often-want-to-speak-i-try-to-be-a-reasonable-person-and-to-be/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“child of God, known by name and whose very hairs are numbered. Praise and adore God and thank him for ever and ever. Amen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/child-of-god-known-by-name-and-whose-very-hairs-are-numbered-praise/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [To remain neutral in situations of injustice is to be complicit in that injustice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/to-remain-neutral-in-situations-of-injustice-is-to-be-complicit-in/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [It's a fantastic thing that from moment to the next moment if God were to have stopped for a split second we would disintegrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/it-s-a-fantastic-thing-that-from-moment-to-the-next-moment-if-god/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [Once lost, trust can only be regained if we are as good as our word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/once-lost-trust-can-only-be-regained-if-we-are-as-good-as-our-word/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) [Explore all 558 Desmond Tutu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) ## More All kinds quotes > [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/) [Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [I'm not technically proficient enough to attempt all kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/i-m-not-technically-proficient-enough-to-attempt-all-kinds-of-music/) [Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/) > [My office in New York is overflowing with all kinds of cookbooks, and in New Orleans we have a huge culinary library. So yeah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeril-lagasse/my-office-in-new-york-is-overflowing-with-all-kinds-of-cookbooks-and/) [Emeril Lagasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeril-lagasse/) > [Sydney is full of the craziest and most talented artists of all kinds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keiynan-lonsdale/sydney-is-full-of-the-craziest-and-most-talented-artists-of-all-kinds/) [Keiynan Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keiynan-lonsdale/) > [Baseball needs to put the steroids era behind it by having and enforcing tough rules against all kinds of artificial advantages, so that spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/baseball-needs-to-put-the-steroids-era-behind-it-by-having-and/) [Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/) > [You know, the world’s not running out of oil. There’s all kinds of oil left in all kinds of places. …We’re never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-rubin/you-know-the-world-s-not-running-out-of-oil-there-s-all-kinds-of-oil/) [Jeff Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-rubin/) > [I grew up with all kinds of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vin-diesel/i-grew-up-with-all-kinds-of-people/) [Vin Diesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vin-diesel/) > [Because there were all kinds of hell - some were black and dirty, and some were silvery and high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-helprin/because-there-were-all-kinds-of-hell-some-were-black-and-dirty-and/) [Mark Helprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-helprin/) > [The architecture of the song, if it's built properly, can withstand all kinds of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-haines/the-architecture-of-the-song-if-it-s-built-properly-can-withstand-all/) [Emily Haines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-haines/) > [There are all kinds of writers. The best writers write children's books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-scarry/there-are-all-kinds-of-writers-the-best-writers-write-children-s-books/) [Richard Scarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-scarry/) > [We also need to make sure women can be in charge of their reproductive health. We can't defund places like Planned Parenthood, where women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissy-teigen/we-also-need-to-make-sure-women-can-be-in-charge-of-their/) [Chrissy Teigen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissy-teigen/) > [The single greatest pleasure that I have in doing ('Bizarre Foods') is when I meet families with 6, 7, 8-year-olds, or teenagers, who say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/the-single-greatest-pleasure-that-i-have-in-doing-bizarre-foods-is/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [Do you know people who insist they like 'all kinds of music'? That actually means they like no kinds of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/do-you-know-people-who-insist-they-like-all-kinds-of-music-that/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) Browse all 1,489 All kinds quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Ultimately, suffering is always political with all kinds of justifications - there are those who justify Israel's occupation of land as being a fulfillment of what God had promised.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Desmond Tutu" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/ultimately-suffering-is-always-political-with-all-kinds-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "All kinds" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/ultimately-suffering-is-always-political-with-all-kinds-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/desmond-tutu-442_all-kinds_ultimately-suffering-is-always-political_2349286.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/desmond-tutu-442_all-kinds_ultimately-suffering-is-always-political_2349286.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb9/desmond-tutu-442_all-kinds_ultimately-suffering-is-always-political_2349286.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Ultimately, suffering is always political with all kinds of justifications - there are those who justify…” — Desmond Tutu", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Desmond Tutu", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Ultimately, suffering is always political with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/ultimately-suffering-is-always-political-with-all-kinds-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/ultimately-suffering-is-always-political-with-all-kinds-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```