“Men are expendable; women and children are not.”

— Robert A. Heinlein

The Pragmatics of Patriotism (1973)
Context: Men are expendable; women and children are not. A tribe or a nation can lose a high percentage of its men and still pick up the pieces and go on... as long as the women and children are saved. But if you fail to save the women and children, you've had it, you're done, you're through! You join Tyrannosaurus Rex, one more breed that bilged its final test.

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Robert A. Heinlein557

American science fiction author 1907–1988

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