Gradually I came to realize that people will more readily swallow lies than truth, as if the taste of lies was homey, appetizing: a habit.
I followed the war wherever I could reach it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects a commitment to truth and the willingness to confront difficult realities.
Martha Gellhorn's quote expresses her determination to witness and report on war, emphasizing the journalist's role in documenting the harsh truths of conflict. By stating that she followed the war wherever she could reach it, she indicates not only her physical presence in war zones but also a moral obligation to tell the stories of those affected by war, showcasing her courage in facing danger and her dedication to revealing the reality of human suffering.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on press freedom, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of journalistic integrity in the face of conflict.
More from Martha Gellhorn
All quotes βIt would be a bitter cosmic joke if we destroy ourselves due to atrophy of the imagination.
the ends never justify the means because IT never ends.
Citizenship is a tough occupation which obliges the citizen to make his own informed opinion and stand by it.
Thousand got away to other countries; thousands returned to Spain tempted by false promises of kindness. By the tens of thousands, these Spaniards died of neglect in the concentration camps.
By its existence, the Peace Movement denies that governments know best; it stands for a different order of priorities: the human race comes first.
Similar quotes
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Just as so many rivers, so many showers of rain from above, so many medicinal springs do not alter the taste of the sea, so the pressure of adversity does not affect the mind of the brave man. For it maintains its balance, and over all that happens it throws its own complexion, because it is more powerful than external circumstances.
I know what it's like to want to die. How it hurts to smile. How you try to fit in but you can't. You hurt yourself on the outside to try to kill the thing on the inside.
I would never call myself a cancer survivor because I think it devalues those who do not survive. There's this whole mythology that people bravely battle their cancer and then they become survivors. Well, the ones who don't survive may be just as brave, you know, just as courageous, wonderful people.
A young man should ask himself not if it is his duty to go to the heathen, but if he may dare stay at home. The command is so plain: βGo.β
That one man scorned and covered with scars _x000D_ Still strove with his last ounce of courage _x000D_ To reach the unreachable star.