I remember one time being told I could not play in a basketball game at the College of William and Mary because I was black, even though I was playing with a United States Army team.
Walter Dean MyersRead
The most difficult idea to reconcile in war is the notion that anything is going to be solved by killing a stranger, or in risking your life for a cause anchored in some distant political arena.
Interpretation
What this quote means
War often presents complex moral dilemmas, particularly the idea that violence can lead to resolution.
Walter Dean Myers highlights the profound ethical challenges of war, questioning the rationale behind sacrificing lives for distant political objectives. He prompts reflection on the senselessness of taking life in the hopes of achieving peace or solving conflicts, suggesting that such actions may lead to more questions than answers.
Themes
WarViolenceMoralityPoliticsSacrifice
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the ethics of military intervention.
More from Walter Dean Myers
All quotes →As a writer, I absorb stories, allow them to churn within my own head and heart - often for years - until I find a way of telling them that fits both my time and temperament.
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We need to tell young people that America was built by men and women of all colors and that the future of this country is dependent on the participation of all of our citizens.
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Yeah, that's funny, huh?...Something hurts you real bad and you get used to it. Like being hurt becomes part of who you are.
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Books transmit values. They explore our common humanity. What is the message when some children are not represented in those books?
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We’re suggesting that [kids are] missing something if they don’t read but, actually, we’re condemning kids to a lesser life. If you had a sick patient, you would not try to entice them to take their medicine. You would tell them, ‘Take this or you’re going to die.’ We need to tell kids flat out: reading is not optional.
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