I have to admit that the empty prestige and the stupid glory - yes, the horrible rush, the deadly sense of importance that war brings to life - are hard illusions to shake off. Look at me, a war correspondent.
Interpretation
War can create a false sense of importance and glory that is difficult to overcome.
In this quote, Michael Hastings reflects on the deceptive allure of war, which often brings a fleeting sense of prestige and glory for those involved, particularly journalists like himself. He acknowledges how easy it is to become enamored with the excitement and importance that accompany warfare, despite the underlying horrors and emptiness that such illusions can mask. His insight serves as a reminder of the need to critically evaluate the narratives constructed around conflict and recognize the true costs hidden beneath the facade of glory.
In practice
In a discussion about the romanticization of military conflict.
In campaign reporting more than any other kind of press coverage, reporters aren't just covering a story, they're a part of it - influencing outcomes, setting expectations, framing candidates - and despite what they tell themselves, it's impossible to both be a part of the action and report on it objectively.
A woman I loved [Andi Parhamovich] was killed in Baghdad in January 2007 – al-Qaeda in Iraq took credit for it … The memorial service with me crying over an empty coffin.
Whenever you're reporting, there's always something you can't say or write, but the questions, you always want to get as close to that line as possible. You want to ask the tough questions.
The very people who shudder over the cruelty of the hunter are apt to forget that slaughter, in the grimmest sense of the word, is a process they entrust daily to the butcher; and that unlike the game of the forests, even the dumbest creatures of the slaughterhouse know what is in store for them.
Increasing extremism - across Africa and the world - must be understood in the context of the failure of our leaders properly to manage diversity within their borders.
Before a brain can register a thought, a mind must think it... every step of the way is mind over matter... We override our brains all the time.
There's no point of having faith if you have evidence.
Our fates are in the hands of An Almighty God, to whom I can with pleasure confide my own; he can save us, or destroy us; his Councils are fixed and cannot be disappointed, and all his designs will be Accomplished.
But the perception of life as an organic unity is a slow achievement, and depends for its growth on a people's entry into the main current of world-events.
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