"Naturally, the common people don’t want war. But after all, it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament or a communist dictatorship. The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country." Hermann Goering, president of Reichstag, Nazi Parliament, 1934
"I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in." George McGovern
"With all the talk of war, the Administration has not explicitly acknowledged, let alone explained to the American people, the immense post-war commitment that will be required to create a stable Iraq." Ted Kennedy, 2003
*Disclaimer: Please take these quotes at face-value, I do not intend for this to be an indictment of the complicated decision to go to war with Iraq per se. I just found Goering's linking of questioning government to a lack of patriotism, McGovern's restatement of "war is hell," and Kennedy's prescient beliefs about the difficulties of post-war Iraq insightful in our current context.
"The most alarming sign of the state of our society now is that our leaders have the courage to sacrifice the lives of young people in war, but have not the courage to tell us that we must be less greedy and less wasteful." {wendell berry}
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