Quotation by

Reinhold Niebuhr

There are historic situations in which refusal to defend the inheritance of a civilization, however imperfect, against tyranny and aggression may result in consequences even worse than war.

Reinhold Niebuhr

War

Understanding this quote AI Analysis

Niebuhr is saying that sometimes not standing up to threats against a civilization’s legacy can lead to outcomes more damaging than the conflict itself. He emphasizes that even if a society is flawed, failing to protect it from oppression can have dire consequences.

More by this author

All quotes by Reinhold Niebuhr →

More quotes about War

See all →

He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.

One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.

The release of atomic energy has not created a new problem. It has merely made more urgent the necessity of solving an existing one.

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hill…

Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.