Weather is a literary specialty, and no untrained hand can turn out a good article on it
The statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and will diligently study them, and refuse to examine any refutations of them; and thus he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques how leaders use lies to justify war, enabling citizens to ignore the truth for their own peace of mind.
Mark Twain's quote highlights the moral dangers of self-deception in the context of war. It suggests that politicians often fabricate convenient narratives to shift blame onto the attacked nation, allowing citizens to comfortably accept these distortions instead of confronting the moral complexities of war. This process leads individuals to rationalize and justify conflict, ultimately fostering a false sense of righteousness while disregarding the truth and its implications on their conscience.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the morality of war, this quote by Mark Twain can serve to highlight the dangers of believing politicians without questioning their narratives.
More from Mark Twain
All quotes →The easy part of being an artist is figuring out the message that everyone else is ready to hear. The hard part is waiting for the proper lull to make the announcement.
You can't reason with your heart; it has its own laws, and thumps about things which the intellect scorns.
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
Name the greatest of all inventors. Accident.
In Paris they just simply opened their eyes and stared when we spoke to them in French! We never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language.
Similar quotes
Once lead this people into war, and they'll forget there ever was such a thing as tolerance. To fight, you must be brutal and ruthless, and the spirit of ruthless brutality will enter into the very fiber of our national life, infecting Congress, the courts, the policeman on the beat, the man in the street.
The right to bear arms? What about the right to live?
Conceal a flaw, and the world will imagine the worst.
If you don't have a moral question governing your society, then you don't have a society that is going to survive.
It is good to be a cynic - it is better to be a contented cat - and it is best not to exist at all.
Law And Freedom without Violence (Anarchy) Law And Violence without Freedom (Despotism) Violence without Freedom And Law (Barbarism) Violence with Freedom And Law (Republic)