It would be well to realize that the talk of ‘humane methods of warfare’, of the ‘rules of civilized warfare’, and all such homage to the finer sentiments of the race are hypocritical and unreal, and only intended for the consumption of stay-at-homes. There are no humane methods of warfare, there is no such thing as civilized warfare; all warfare is inhuman, all warfare is barbaric; the first blast of the bugles of war ever sounds for the time being the funeral knell of human progress… What lover of humanity can view with anything but horror the prospect of this ruthless destruction of human life. Yet this is war: war for which all the jingoes are howling, war to which all the hopes of the world are being sacrificed, war to which a mad ruling class would plunge a mad world.

~ James Connolly

James Connolly Aggression Civilized Death Destruction Elite Humanity Hypocrisy James Connolly Jingoism Madness Morality Reality Ruling Class Truth War Ww1

Yet I now ask of you—are you marauders or are you servants? Do you give power to others, or do you hoard it? Do you fight not to have something, but rather fight so that others might one day have something? Is your blade a part of your soul, or is it a burden, a tool, to be used with care? Are you soldiers, my children, or are you savages?

~ Robert Jackson Bennett

Robert Jackson Bennett Bravery Conquest Imperialism Jingoism Militarism Military Power Service Soldiering Soldiers Soldiery Violence War Weapons

You are wrong,” says the man. His voice is low and resonant. The metal walls of the dome, all the knives and swords and spears, all seem to vibrate with each of his words. “Your rulers and their propaganda have sold you this watered-down conceit of war, of a warrior yoked to the whims of civilization. Yet for all their self-professed civility, your rulers will gladly spend a soldier’s life to better aid their posturing, to keep the cost of a crude good low. They will send the children of others off to die and only think upon it later to grandly and loudly memorialize them, lauding their great sacrifice. Civilization is but the adoption of this cowardly method of murder.

~ Robert Jackson Bennett

Robert Jackson Bennett Civilization Conflict Imperialism Jingoism Militarism Murder Nationalism Patriotism Peace Propaganda Soldiering Soldiers War Warrior

We take off into the cosmos, ready for anything: for solitude, for hardship, for exhaustion, death. Modesty forbids us to say so, but there are times when we think pretty well of ourselves. And yet, if we examine it more closely, our enthusiasm turns out to be all sham. We don't want to conquer the cosmos, we simply want to extend the boundaries of Earth to the frontiers of the cosmos.... We are humanitarian and chivalrous; we don't want to enslave other races, we simply want to bequeath them our values and take over their heritage in exchange. We think of ourselves as the Knights of the Holy Contact. This is another lie. We are only seeking Man. We have no need of other worlds. We need mirrors. (1970 English translation)

~ Stanisław Lem

Stanisław Lem Chauvinism Imperialism Jingoism New Worlds Racism Science Fiction Self Image Space Exploration

His (Lincoln's) patriotism was saved from idolatry by the overwhelming sense of the sovereignty of God.

~ Elton Trueblood

Elton Trueblood Arrogance Jingoism Patriotism Racism

Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism.

~ George Orwell

George Orwell Jingoism Nationalism Patriotism

Patriotism is a villain's last refuge.

~ Xiaobo Liu

Xiaobo Liu Authoritarianism Jingoism Patriotism Propaganda

Why is it that those who want to destroy everything good about their country are the quickest to waive the national flag?

~ Ken Follett

Ken Follett Jingoism Narrowmindedness Patriotism