I would love to say that the pen is more might than the sword. But I would be fulling lying if I said this.
There are about two examples I can think of where this might not be the case:
1) Martin Luther King JR- He was very very good, especially with speeches that encouraged peaceful protest.
2) The Dalai Lama- He is a rather peaceful guy and he spends the vast majority of his time discussing peace.
After that, I am hard pressed to think of many examples of nonviolent "heroes".
The United States is considered by many to be the most powerful nation in the world. We are involved in "conflicts" in multiple countries in multiple parts of the world. We established peace talks between North and South Korea, but currently have the De-Militarized Zone in between them that is patrolled by the US soldiers. Why? In truth, even we know that our pen might be mighty but we prefer our weapons to back us up in the end.
There are a handful of civil wars around the world at this moment. The vast majority of them have either had UN peacekeepers enter the area, or have had sanctions pushed on them. If ideas other then force were the ultimate decider, I believe these events would be over. However no nations have stepped into these wars yet and interfered by use of force and as a result, the death count continues to rise on both sides of the line.
My last point brings me to organized crime. Many gangs control their neighborhoods in certain areas and the "Mafia" controls others. Both run with an iron fist and full control over the area. These crime syndicates are willing to kill almost anyone who stands up to them and it is with this threat that they are able to continue to rule the streets.
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I agree with your examples of MLK and the Dalai Lama as two individuals who would refute Heinlein's claim. Also, I think that it is interesting that you equate weapons/ violence with comfort. In all honesty, I find such things to be opposing at their core, but when you are not just looking at them as words, but rather as methods the comparison makes sense. Personally, I still want to be optimistic, though and believe that the majority of individuals do not find the ability to use violence as a way to feel reassured because it makes violence seem too acceptable then.
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