Religion is so frequently a source of confusion in political life, and so frequently dangerous to democracy, precisely because it introduces absolutes into the realm of relative values.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
Democracies are indeed slow to make war, but once embarked upon a martial venture are equally slow to make peace and reluctant to make a tolerable, rather than a vindictive, peace.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Democracies hesitate to go to war but are equally hesitant to end conflicts peacefully.
This quote by Reinhold Niebuhr reflects on the complexities of democratic decision-making in times of war. It highlights a tendency for democracies to enter conflicts cautiously, yet once involved, they may struggle to pursue a fair and reconciliatory peace, choosing instead a more vindictive approach to resolution.
Themes
DemocracyWarPeaceVindictivenessConflictJustice
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used to discuss the complexities of military strategies in a classroom setting.
More from Reinhold Niebuhr
All quotes →The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
The mastery of nature is vainly believed to be an adequate substitute for self mastery.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
All you earnest young men out to save the world. . . please, have a laugh.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
Forgiveness is the final form of love.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed.
Reinhold NiebuhrRead
Similar quotes
And I or you pocketless of a dime, may purchase the pick of the earth.
Walt WhitmanRead
The person who talks most of his own virtue is often the least virtuous.
Jawaharlal NehruRead
God has given us two hands - one to receive with and the other to give with. We are cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for sharing. If we fail to fulfill this divine duty and privilege we have missed the meaning of Christianity.
Billy GrahamRead
Can the mind see the truth of its own incapacity to know the unknown? Surely if I see very clearly that my mind cannot know the unknown, there is absolute quietness.
Jiddu KrishnamurtiRead
Imperfection is in some sort essential to all that we know in life.
John RuskinRead
Man's unique agony as a species consists in his perpetual conflict between the desire to stand out and the need to blend in.
Sydney J. HarrisRead