It's a failure of national vision when you regard children as weapons, and talents as materials you can mine, assay, and fabricate for profit and defense.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the misguided priorities of society that see children as tools for exploitation rather than nurturing their potential.
John Hersey's quote emphasizes the tragic failure of societal values when children are viewed merely as instruments for gain or instruments of power, rather than as individuals with unique potentials that need to be nurtured. By comparing children to weapons and talents to materials, it criticizes systems that prioritize profit and defense over the holistic development of future generations, urging a shift in perspective that recognizes the intrinsic worth of every child and their capabilities.
In practice
In a speech about educational reform, one might quote this to highlight the importance of prioritizing child development over profit.
Do not work primarily for money; do your duty to patients first and let the money follow; our life is short, we don't live twice; the whirlwind will pick up the leaves and spin them, but then it will drop them and they will form a pile.
To be a writer is to throw away a great deal, not to be satisfied, to type again, and then again and once more, and over and over.
The crux of the matter is whether total war in its present form is justifiable, even when it serves a just purpose. Does it not have material and spiritual evil as its consequences which far exceed whatever good might result? When will our moralists give us an answer to this question?
Journalism allows its readers to witness history; fiction gives its readers an opportunity to live it.
I knew chemistry would be worse, because I'd seen a big card of the ninety-odd elements hung up in the chemistry lab, and all the perfectly good words like gold and silver and cobalt and aluminum were shortened to ugly abbreviations with different decimal numbers after them.
Write regularly, day in and day out, at whatever times of day you find that you write best. Don't wait till you feel that you are in the mood. Write, whether you are feeling inclined to write or not.
Kids need to encounter kids like themselves - kids who can sometimes be crabby and fresh and rebellious, kids who talk back and disobey, tell fibs and get into trouble, and are nonetheless still likable and redeemable.
All of these young people have some kind of potential in them. And if we don't invest in them as a nation, regardless of where they come from or what color they are, if we don't invest in them, we lose.
The longer I write, the more important I believe it is to write the first draft as fast as possible. In drafting, I push myself so I am at the edge of discomfort...Later, it will be time for consideration and reconsideration, slow, careful revision and editing. But on the first draft I have to achieve velocity, just as you do if you want the bike to balance.
In order to learn, one must change one's mind.
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