Football strategy does not originate in a scrimmage: it is useless to expect solutions in a political campaign.
Walter LippmannRead
We must remember that in time of war what is said on the enemy's side of the front is always propaganda and what is said on our side of the front is truth and righteousness, the cause of humanity and a crusade for peace.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the bias in narratives about war, highlighting how each side perceives its own stories as truth while dismissing the other's as propaganda.
In this quote, Walter Lippmann reflects on the nature of communication during wartime, suggesting that both sides of a conflict view their own information as virtuous and just, while vilifying the opposing side's narrative as mere propaganda. This highlights the subjective nature of truth in the context of war, where perspectives are often colored by allegiance and bias, ultimately questioning the idea of absolute truth in discourse about conflict.
Themes
WarPropagandaTruthNarrativeBiasPeace
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about historical conflicts, this quote can illustrate the complexity of truth in wartime narratives.
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The private citizen, beset by partisan appeals for the loan of his Public Opinion, will soon see, perhaps, that these appeals are not a compliment to his intelligence, but an imposition on his good nature and an insult to his sense of evidence.
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