Interesting find. This guy must be "with the terrorists".

[zbdent]

War "represents an unreasoned and inarticulate attempt of a species to solve its frustrations by exploding. A variety of outcomes can be expected. Some wars reseed populations and, after a gestative period, instill new vitality into stale regions. Some wars destroy the victor, the conquered nation, or both, and thereby simply erase angry causes from the planet. Some leave the combatants exhausted enough to think, if they have stopped short of total ruin, and to advance their future by the exercise of reason and goodwill, motivated by the shock of what has happened and the obviousness of what the sick populace requires. But most wars are inconclusive; the psychic trauma which they produce leads to a false era of apparent altruism and peace; old grudges, hypocrisies, greeds, imbalances, jealousies, superstitions and fears sloly erase the briefly necessary sense of safety. War comes again."

...

"We may not win. Or, we may win under circumstances which will make us too dulled and enfeebled to carry out any plan. Or we may win after suffering such ghastly punishment as to turn our altruistic purposes into revenge. Or, again, victory may come so soon, and so easily for the United States of America, that we will sit like a benign Dutch uncle at the peace table and hand out Sunday School rules and diplomas to the infuriated peoples . . ."

[Maple]

1. Yes, an interesting find.

Link?

[zbdent]

2. No link - from the 1958 printing of the 1942 book

"Generation of Vipers" by conservative writer Philip Wylie.

Found it interesting that a conservative's words like this would probably be labeled as "unAmerican" these days.

Thought I'd toss it out there. Just found it this AM at a second-hand store (where I pick up all my fiction, er, conservative books).

Interesting; a statement like that would probably get him "banned" by today's Repuke party (not exactly known for their "liberalness"). Especially when he goes on about an unnamed (but well-known) "liberal" wanting "Generation of Vipers" suppressed.

[Maple]

3. Okay thanks

I just wanted a source so I could read more of it.