I found this on my home page of MSN.com.
War evokes such conflicting emotions--horror, glory, shame, pride, and sorrow--that it is often difficult to express them in words. Here is what some have said about war.
1. There is many a boy here today who looks on war as all glory, but boys, it is all hell. You can bear this warning voice to generations yet to come. I look upon war with horror.
--William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891), U.S. general. From a speech, Columbus, Ohio, August 11, 1880.
2. All counter-revolutionary wars are unjust, all revolutionary wars are just.
--Mao Zedong (1893-1976), Chinese statesman. From On Protracted War (1938).
3. All wars are popular for the first thirty days.
--Attributed to Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (1917- ), U.S. historian.
4. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother.
--William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright and poet. From Henry V (1598?).
5. War is nothing but a continuation of politics with the admixture of other means.
--Karl Marie von Clausewitz (1780-1831), Prussian general. Often misquoted as "War is nothing but a continuation of politics by other means." From On War (1833).
6. It has long been noted that some conquerors prefer enemies as fierce as tigers and brave as eagles, for only then can they savor the true joy of victory.
--Lu Xun (1881-1936), Chinese writer. From "The True Story of Ah Q" (1918).
7. It is well that war is so terrible; else we would grow too fond of it.
--Robert E. Lee (1807-1870), U.S. general. Said to another general during the battle of Fredericksburg (1862).
8. Nothing is ever done in this world until men are prepared to kill each other if it is not done.
--George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), Irish playwright. From Major Barbara (1905).
9. Television brought the brutality of war into the comfort of the living room. Vietnam was lost in the living rooms of America—not on the battlefields of Vietnam.
--Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980), Canadian sociologist. In the Montreal Gazette, 1975.
10. The guerrilla fights the war of the flea, and his military enemy suffers the dog's disadvantages: too much to defend; too small, ubiquitous, and agile an enemy to come to grips with.
--Robert Taber (1928- ), U.S. writer. From War of the Flea (1965).
11. A war regarded as inevitable or even probable, and therefore much prepared for, has a very good chance of being fought.
--George F. Kennan (1904- ), U.S. diplomat and scholar. From The Cloud of Danger (1977).
12. War is capitalism with the gloves off.
--Tom Stoppard (1937- ), British playwright and screenwriter. From Travesties (1974).
13. You no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.
--Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973), U.S. legislator.
14. Do not let us speak of darker days; let us rather speak of sterner days. These are not dark days: these are great days--the greatest days our country has ever lived.
--Winston Churchill (1874-1965), British prime minister and writer. From a speech, October 29, 1941.
15. Blood alone moves the wheels of history.
--Attributed to Benito Mussolini (1883-1945), Italian dictator.
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11 comments:
And all who go to war invoke the name of God as their rightful ally and protector. What's a God to do?
I guess it depends which God you call on. Is it the Christian God, the Muslim God, the Hindu God, the Jewish God or Sweet Tea’s God, me.
I like the one that says you can no more win a war than win an earthquake. And, all war is terrible. I hope it is not true that we need war to accomplish anything. :-(
I've been back twice now. I can't think of anything to say except that I agree with Mary. I'm sickened with war. And I find it hard to believe that God is on anyone's side when it comes to this.
You no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.
--Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973), U.S. legislator.
so bloody true, bso why do we keep having wars!
The Robert E. Lee quote is my favorite.
Thought provoking for my Monday morning.
ps I have finally taken the leap with my very own domain. www.midwestdiva.net
mst, gawilli and her indoors, I know you are against war and hate it. Me, too! But the fact is, there have always been wars and there will never be a time when, in the world some place, there will never be a war. Why? Religious reasons, disputes over land, the sovereignty of government verses the army or the church, because someone doesn’t like your philosophical beliefs or any other reason that one man disagrees with another man.
How many cities are totally slaughtered, men, women and children, in the Bible. It is part of man’s makeup and we will never be without it. So, to me, the best thing to do is build the biggest, strongest, best trained armed forces in the world and use it to try to keep piece or kick the ass of anyone who is foolish enough to attack us.
If we do not keep a well trained armed force, greed alone will entice a third world nation to attack us. Men (and Women) are not capable of keeping piece. It’s sad, but true.
rwa, mine is Sherman’s, paraphrased, “War is Hell.”
I don't like the thought of us sending our men to another country to fight for freedom and possibly die anymore than the next person, but I do feel that there are occasions when it must be done.
War is hell and capitalism without gloves and shitty.
Biker buddy has darker red lips than I do--what color are yours?
I'm an idealist and a dreamer. I like the idea of peace. But what you say is prolly true, even though I HATE IT!
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