My War Quotes

“One question in my mind, which I hardly dare mention in public, is whether patriotism has, overall, been a force for good or evil in the world. Patriotism is rampant in war and there are some good things about it. Just as self-respect and pride bring out the best in an individual, pride in family, pride in teammates, pride in hometown bring out the best in groups of people. War brings out the kind of pride in country that encourages its citizens in the direction of excellence and it encourages them to be ready to die for it. At no time do people work so well together to achieve the same goal as they do in wartime. Maybe that's enough to make patriotism eligible to be considered a virtue. If only I could get out of my mind the most patriotic people who ever lived, the Nazi Germans.”
― Andy Rooney, My War

“I laugh, bitterly, when I hear the phrase “He gave his life for his country.” No one gives his life. His life is taken.     THERE”
― Andy Rooney, My War

“Patriotism and war go together. Anytime anyone gets thinking patriotism is one of the supreme virtues, it would be a good idea to remember that there was never any group of people more patriotic than the Nazi Germans. It’s strange that love of country brings out the vicious character in so many people. In that respect, it’s a lot like religion. Here are two things that almost everyone agrees are good, patriotism and religion, but between them they account for almost all the people who ever died in a war. It”
― Andy Rooney, My War

“The world would be out of trouble if it had all the money to spend on poverty and peace that it has spent during its history on ammunition that failed to serve its purpose—to kill.”
― Andy Rooney, My War

“MY TEARS DRIED up on the fiftieth anniversary visit to Omaha when I got thinking of how presumptuous it was of some Army authority to have put nothing but crosses or Stars of David over the graves, as though there was no room in the cemetery for anyone who held beliefs other than those represented by two religious symbols.”
― Andy Rooney, My War

“Any peace is better than any war.”
― Andy Rooney, My War

“If only I could get out of my mind the most patriotic people who ever lived, the Nazi Germans.”
― Andy Rooney, My War

“Patriotism and war go together. Anytime anyone gets thinking patriotism is one of the supreme virtues, it would be a good idea to remember that there was never any group of people more patriotic than the Nazi Germans. It’s strange that love of country brings out the vicious character in so many people. In that respect, it’s a lot like religion. Here are two things that almost everyone agrees are good, patriotism and religion, but between them they account for almost all the people who ever died in a war.”
― Andy Rooney, My War