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War

Quotations about War

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Using Quotations in a Speech or Text about War

As well as keeping your audience engaged, adding quotations to a speech or a text can significantly enhance its impact and effectiveness. Quotations are useful for explaining complex ideas concisely, much in the same way that analogies are used. Additionally, quotations from experts or celebrities can add credibility to your message.

Here are some funny and poignant quotations about war. If your speech is serious, do not automatically avoid funny quotations as they can often be the most impactful, forcing your audience into the thinking about the hidden analogous message in your selected quotation.

  • "Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious." (British actor Peter Ustinov)
  • "When a thing is funny, search it carefully for a hidden truth." (Irish dramatist George Bernard Shaw)
If you are looking to make a fuller speech about war, then below this selection of quotations are three funny themes and three serious themes on the topic of war that might help trigger some ideas for your speech or text.
quotations about war

"War does not determine who is right – only who is left." Anon

"War is God's way of teaching Americans geography." Anon

"When the rich wage war, it's the poor who die." Jean-Paul Sartre (French philosopher, 1905-80)

"You must not fight too often with one enemy, or you will teach him all your art of war." Napoleon Bonaparte (French military commander, 1769-1821)

"The more you sweat in peace, the less you bleed in war." Norman Schwarzkopf (American general, 1934-2012)

"The best weapon against an enemy is another enemy." Friedrich Nietzsche (German philosopher, 1844-1900)

"War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace." Thomas Mann (German novelist, 1875-1955)

"You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake." Jeannette Rankin (American politician, 1880-1973)

"I'm fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in." George McGovern (American historian, 1922-2012)

"After each war, there is a little less democracy to save." Brooks Atkinson (American journalist and critic, 1894-1984)

"We need a futile gesture at this stage. It will raise the whole tone of the war." Peter Cook (English comedian and actor, 1937-95)

"They found more dangerous chemicals in Coca-Cola's Dasani mineral water than they did in the whole of Iraq." Robin Cook (British Labour politician, 1946-2005)

"Men love war because it allows them to look serious. Because they imagine it is the one thing that stops women laughing at them." John Fowles (English novelist, 1926-2005)

"There never was a good war, or a bad peace." Benjamin Franklin (American politician, inventor, and scientist, 1706-90)

"The Gulf War was like teenage sex. We got in too soon and out too soon." Tom Harkin (American Democratic politician, 1939-)

"Vietnam without the mosquitoes." Carl Hiaasen (American writer, 1953-) talking about the war in Iraq.

"All castles had one major weakness. The enemy used to get in through the gift shop." Peter Kay (British comedian, 1973-)

"The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it." George Orwell (English novelist, 1903-50)

"Retreat, hell! We're only attacking in another direction." Oliver P. Smith (American general, 1893-1977)

Thinking Template for a Speech or Text on War

Below are 3 funny themes and 3 serious themes related to war. These have been included to help you identify areas to explore.

Funny Themes:

  1. Boot Camp Bloopers: The Funniest Military Training Moments
    • Share amusing anecdotes or stories about funny incidents during military boot camp, highlighting the lighter side of training mishaps.
  2. Miscommunication Mishaps: Humorous Misunderstandings in Military Strategy
    • Explore humorous miscommunications and misunderstandings in military history, discussing how they led to unexpected situations or outcomes.
  3. War of Words: The Funniest Propaganda Fails and Slogans
    • Discuss comical propaganda campaigns or slogans used during wars, highlighting humorous or absurd aspects of psychological warfare.

Serious Themes:

  1. Impact of War: Human Cost, Societal Change, and Global Relations
    • Explore the profound impacts of war on societies, economies, and international relations, discussing the human cost, displacement, and long-term consequences.
  2. War and Technology: Innovations, Cyber Warfare, and Future Conflicts
    • Discuss technological advancements in warfare, including the rise of cyber warfare, drone technology, and their implications for future conflicts.
  3. Lessons from History: Preventing Conflict and Promoting Peace
    • Address lessons learned from past wars, exploring strategies for conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and the role of international diplomacy in maintaining global peace.

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