Very little is known about the War of 1812 because the Americans lost it. —Eric Nicol More about this quote Tags: war history memory USA Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
History, real solemn history, I cannot be interested in. . . . I read it a little as a duty; but it tells me nothing that does not either vex or weary me. The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences in every page; the men all so good-for-nothing, and hardly any women at all. —Jane Austen More about this quote Tags: war history power women men kings pestilence Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
The insight that peace is the end of war, and that therefore a war is the preparation for peace, is at least as old as Aristotle, and the pretense that the aim of an armament race is to guard the peace is even older — namely, as old as the discovery of propaganda lies. —Hannah Arendt More about this quote Tags: war peace lies propaganda Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war. —Pentagon official on why the U.S. military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War More about this quote Tags: war politics peace violence Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
We can destroy ourselves by cynicism and disillusion, just as effectively as by bombs. —Kenneth Clark More about this quote Tags: war cynicism destruction Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
In 1941 Sergeant James Allen Ward was awarded the Victoria Cross for climbing out onto the wing of his Wellington bomber at thirteen thousand feet to extinguish a fire in the starboard engine. Secured only by a rope around his waist, he smothered the fire and returned along the wing to the aircraft's cabin. Winston Churchill, an admirer of swashbuckling exploits, summoned the shy New Zealander to 10 Downing Street. Struck dumb with awe in Churchill's presence, Ward was unable to answer the prime minister's questions. Churchill surveyed the unhappy hero with some compassion. "You must feel very humble and awkward in my presence," he said. "Yes, sir," managed Ward. "Then you can imagine how humble and awkward I feel in yours," said Churchill. —The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes More about this quote Tags: war heroism humility compassion fire awe awkwardness Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
Each drew his sword / On the side of the Lord. —Phyllis McGinley More about this quote Tags: war God violence Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
Antonio Rivera took refuge with other Nationalists in the Alcázar during the Spanish Civil War. As a pacifist, the youth refused at first to help defend the ancient stronghold, and was put on latrine duty. When the situation of the besieged became more desperate, he decided that it would not be inconsistent with his principles to aid in the defense, provided that he did not kill in hatred. He was assigned the position of loader to a heavy machine gun. It was said that he would give the signal to fire with the words: "Tirad — pero sin odio." (Fire — but without hatred. ) —Bartlett's Book of Anecdotes More about this quote Tags: war hatred killing defense Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets. —Voltaire More about this quote Tags: justice war morality violence murder Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one. —Albert Einstein More about this quote Tags: war weapons necessity problems energy Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
I have a friend who has devoted most of his adult life to resisting the madness of war through actions of justice and peace. He . . . lives in poverty so as to stay below the taxation level. . . . The money he "should" have given the government over the years he has donated to peace-and-justice projects. Does he have any results to show for his efforts? Has he been effective? Hardly — at least, not by the normal calculus. His years of commitment to peacemaking have been years of steady increase in wars and rumors of wars. So how does he stay healthy and sane? How does he maintain a commitment to this sort of active life? "I have never asked myself if I was being effective," he says, "but only if I was being faithful." He judges his action not by the results it gets, but by its fidelity to his own calling and identity. —Parker J. Palmer More about this quote Tags: justice war peace identity poverty government faith calling Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
Wars teach us not to love our enemies, but to hate our allies. —W. L. George More about this quote Tags: war love hate enemies allies Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
The time not to become a father is eighteen years before a war. —E. B. White More about this quote Tags: war age fatherhood military Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
I guess every generation is doomed to fight its war, . . . suffer the loss of the same old illusions, and learn the same old lessons on its own. —Philip Caputo More about this quote Tags: war ignorance learning youth loss illusion Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email
Endless money forms the sinews of war. —Cicero More about this quote Tags: war money greed infinity Permalink for this quote facebook twitter tumblr email