"The loud little handful will shout for war.
The pulpit will warily and cautiously protest at first....
The great mass of the nation will rub its sleepy eyes, and will try to make out why there should be a war, and they will say earnestly and indignantly: "It is unjust and dishonorable and there is no need for war."
Then the few will shout even louder....
Before long you will see a curious thing: anti-war speakers will be stoned from the platform, and free speech will be strangled by hordes of furious men who still agree with the speakers but dare not admit it...
Next, the statesmen will invent cheap lies...and each man will be glad of these lies and will study them because they soothe his conscience; and thus he will bye and bye convince himself that the war is just and he will thank God for a better sleep he enjoys by his self-deception."
-- Mark Twain, Anti-Imperialist League
"Strike against war, for without you no battles can be fought!
Strike against manufacturing shrapnel and gas bombs and all other tools of murder!
Strike against preparedness that means death and misery to millions of human beings!
Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction!
Be heroes in an army of construction."
-- Helen Keller, Anti-Imperalist
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment