In modern war... you will die like a dog for no good reason.

In modern war... you will die like a dog for no good reason.

When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, read more

When people speak to you about a preventive war, you tell them to go and fight it. After my experience, I have come to hate war. War settles nothing.

A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to read more

A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.

Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That read more

Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine 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. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to 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 any country.

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic read more

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.

War challenges virtually every other institution of society--the justice and equity of its economy, the adequacy of its political systems, read more

War challenges virtually every other institution of society--the justice and equity of its economy, the adequacy of its political systems, the energy of its productive plant, the bases, wisdom and purposes of its foreign policy.

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior read more

War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today.

The history of those who shed those other tears, the history of those anonymous millions, is what Terkel wants readers read more

The history of those who shed those other tears, the history of those anonymous millions, is what Terkel wants readers and listeners to come away with. What's it like to be that goofy little soldier, scared stiff, with his bayonet aimed at Christ? What's it like to have been a woman in a defense-plant job during World War II? What's it like to be a kid at the front lines? It's all funny and tragic at the same time.

All quiet along the Potomac they say
Except now and then a stray picket
Is shot as read more

All quiet along the Potomac they say
Except now and then a stray picket
Is shot as he walks on his beat, to and fro,
By a rifleman hid in the thicket.