Huey Long (1893–1935) American politician, Governor of Louisiana, and United States Senator
Number 7 in the sum and substance of the Share our Wealth program (1935); quoted in Hugh Davis Graham, Huey Long (1970), p. 74.
Huey Long (1893–1935) American politician, Governor of Louisiana, and United States Senator
Number 7 in the sum and substance of the Share our Wealth program (1935); quoted in Hugh Davis Graham, Huey Long (1970), p. 74.
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist
1920s, What I Believe (1925)
“Turks can be killed, but they can never be conquered.”
Napoleon I of France (1769–1821) French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French
Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)
Ted Bundy (1946–1989) American serial killer
1977 interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEWsxCrMM1U in Pitkin County Prison, Colorado
John Locke book Some Thoughts Concerning Education
Sec. 116
Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)
Joan Jett (1958) American rock musician, former member of The Runaways
“What's in your basket, Joan Jett?”, in theguardian.com (18 July 2010) https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/18/joan-jett-vegetarian-diet.
Ian Smith (1919–2007) Prime Minister of Rhodesia
Patrick Kombayi, Opposition Politician and former Gweru Mayor, Article http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1570403/Zimbabweans-praise-generous-Ian-Smith.html in The Telegraph, 2007. <br class="br">About
“Give us bandwidth or kill us!”
Jude Milhon (1939–2003) American hacker & author
Interview in Wired (1995)
Kent Hovind (1953) American young Earth creationist
-Edited Version- Pastor Steve Anderson interviews Dr Kent Hovind (Re-upload) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4y4J7o62-w8, Youtube (January 22, 2015)
Martin Luther (1483–1546) seminal figure in Protestant Reformation
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/luther/catechism/web/cat-07.html The Large Catechism by Martin Luther, Translated by F. Bente and W.H.T. Dau Published in: Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921) pp. 565-773, (1529)
Jordan Peterson (1962) Canadian clinical psychologist, cultural critic, and professor of psychology
Concepts
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist
1950s, What Desires Are Politically Important? (1950)
Ted Bundy (1946–1989) American serial killer
Quoted in Michaud, Stephen; Aynesworth, Hugh (1999) The Only Living Witness: The True Story of Serial Sex Killer Ted Bundy (Paperback; revised ed.). Irving, Texas: Authorlink Press. pg. 326
Alex Jones (1974) American radio host, author, conspiracy theorist and filmmaker
"Antigun Activist David Hogg Attacks Infowars For Gay Frogs" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN4pTxI12Hc&feature=youtu.be&t=19m59s, The Alex Jones Show, March 2018.
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
Campaign rally http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/10/19/remarks-president-campaign-event-fairfax-va, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, <br class="br">2012
Pope Francis (1936) 266th Pope of the Catholic Church
Section 53
2010s, 2013, Evangelii Gaudium · The Joy of the Gospel
John Hospers (1918–2011) American philosopher and politician
and in totalitarian nations even that is prohibited
Source: The Libertarian Alternative, (1977), p. 12
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
1860s, Allow the humblest man an equal chance (1860)
Context: If I saw a venomous snake crawling in the road, any man would say I might seize the nearest stick and kill it; but if I found that snake in bed with my children, that would be another question. I might hurt the children more than the snake, and it might bite them. Much more if I found it in bed with my neighbor's children, and I had bound myself by a solemn compact not to meddle with his children under any circumstances, it would become me to let that particular mode of getting rid of the gentleman alone. But if there was a bed newly made up, to which the children were to be taken, and it was proposed to take a batch of young snakes and put them there with them, I take it no man would say there was any question how I ought to decide!
Context: If I saw a venomous snake crawling in the road, any man would say I might seize the nearest stick and kill it; but if I found that snake in bed with my children, that would be another question. I might hurt the children more than the snake, and it might bite them. Much more if I found it in bed with my neighbor's children, and I had bound myself by a solemn compact not to meddle with his children under any circumstances, it would become me to let that particular mode of getting rid of the gentleman alone. But if there was a bed newly made up, to which the children were to be taken, and it was proposed to take a batch of young snakes and put them there with them, I take it no man would say there was any question how I ought to decide! That is just the case! The new Territories are the newly made bed to which our children are to go, and it lies with the nation to say whether they shall have snakes mixed up with them or not. It does not seem as if there could be much hesitation what our policy should be!
Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer, historian, and philosopher
Il est défendu de tuer; tout meurtrier est puni, à moins qu’il n’ait tué en grande compagnie, et au son des trompettes.
"Rights" (1771)
Citas, Questions sur l'Encyclopédie (1770–1774)
Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) Austrian poet and writer
Translated by Annemarie S. Kidder
In Celebration of Me (1909)
Ozzy Osbourne (1948) English heavy metal vocalist and songwriter
You Can't Kill Rock and Roll, written by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley.
Song lyrics, Diary of a Madman (1981)
Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519) Italian Renaissance polymath
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (1883), XX Humorous Writings
“It would be one way to kill off the merchandising.”
Joanne K. Rowling (1965) British novelist, author of the Harry Potter series
On the possibility of killing Harry in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, as quoted in 'Harry is a lot, lot, lot angrier in this book' in The Telegraph (20 June 2003)
2000s
Brigitte Bardot (1934) French model, actor, singer and animal rights activist
" Brigitte Bardot: 'I became aware of the horror of factory farming http://www.evana.org/index.php?id=51041&lang=en". Interview for Primorske novice (November 2009) as reported by European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance (EVANA) website
Bertrand Russell book A History of Western Philosophy
[Russell, Bertrand, w:Bertrand Russell, History of Western Philosophy, https://books.google.com/books?id=iQZ6Xk9VdtAC&pg=PA296, 2008, Simon and Schuster, 978-1-4165-9915-9, 296–297, 1945]
1940s, A History of Western Philosophy (1945)
“Never sell the bear's skin before one has killed the beast.”
Jean De La Fontaine (1621–1695) French poet, fabulist and writer.
Il ne faut jamais
Vendre la peau de l'ours qu'on ne l'ait mis par terre.
Book V (1668), fable 20.
Fables (1668–1679)
“I have just turned life into a proverb. I just killed it.”
Giannina Braschi (1953) Puerto Rican writer
Empire of Dreams (prose poetry, 1988)
Lavrentiy Beria (1899–1953) Georgian Soviet NKVD police chief under fellow Georgian and Soviet leader Stalin
Brain-Washing: A Synthesis of the Russian Textbook on Psychopolitics
Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais (1962) Imam in Mecca
Shaykh Abdur Rahmaan As-Sudays, 2007-03-19, April 19, 2002, www.alharamainsermons.org http://www.alharamainsermons.org/eng/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=71,.
“The bullet that will kill me is not yet cast.”
Napoleon I of France (1769–1821) French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French
Statement at Montereau (17 February 1814)
Jeffrey Dahmer (1960–1994) American serial killer, cannibal and necrophile
Inside Edition Interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COKYJdoUV2w
Hasan ibn Ali (624–669) Shia Imam
Shaykh al-Sadūq, Ilal al-Shara'i, vol.1, p. 211
Religious-based Quotes
Alexander Suvorov (1730–1800) Russian military commander
About the Polish deaths in the storming of the fortified Praga suburb in Warsaw on October 15, 1794, during the Polish revolt, quotes in Philip Longworth, "The Art of Victory", 1966.
Aldo Leopold book A Sand County Almanac
Source: A Sand County Almanac, 1949, "Chihuahua and Sonora: The Green Lagoons", p. 157-158.
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
Source: 2015, Address to the Nation by the President on San Bernardino (December 2015)
Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French-German physician, theologian, musician and philosopher
Memoirs of Childhood and Youth (1924)
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist
Source: 1920s, Sceptical Essays (1928), Ch. 13: Freedom in Society
Kurt Vonnegut book Deadeye Dick
Statement of the husband of the woman killed in the accident
Deadeye Dick (1982)
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American politician, 26th president of the United States
As quoted in Manliness and Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880-1917 (2008), by Gail Bederman, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. p. 198.
“The state is primarily an organization for killing foreigners.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist
Bertrand Russell Speaks His Mind (1960), p. 83
1960s
“Killing ain't fair, but somebody's got to do it.”
Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) rapper and actor
1990s, "Hit 'Em Up" (1996)
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
2014, Address to European Youth (March 2014)
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
2011, UN speech to General Assembly (September 2011)
Eduardo Galeano (1940–2015) Uruguayan writer
Galeano (1991) Professional Life/3 p. 108; As cited in: Paul Farmer (2005) Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor.. p. 10
“It is better to die well, than to live wrongly (…) who is afraid of death loses the joy of life; truth prevails all, prevails who is killed, because no adversity can harm him, who is not dominated by injustice.”
Melius est bene mori, quam male vivere (...) qui mortem metuit, amittit gaudia vitae; super omnia vincit veritas, vincit, qui occiditur, quia nulla ei nocet adversitas, si nulla ei dominatur iniquitas.
Jan Hus (1369–1415) Czech linguist, religion writer, theologist, university educator and science writer
Quoted in John Huss: His Life, Teachings and Death, After Five Hundred Years (1915) by David Schley Schaff, p. 58.
Jan Hus in Letter to Christian of Prachatice, probably the most influential of his quotes, first adopted as the motto by Hussite warriors, centuries later this motto was inscribed on the banner of the Presidents of the Czechoslovakia and now (in Czech translation) is inscribed on the banner of the President of the Czech Republic.
Voltaire (1694–1778) French writer, historian, and philosopher
Tel homme qui dans un excès de mélancolie se tue aujourd’hui aimerait à vivre s’il attendait huit jours. <br class="br"> "Cato" http://www.voltaire-integral.com/Html/18/caton.htm (1764) <br class="br">Citas, Dictionnaire philosophique (1764)
Rudolf Höss (1901–1947) German war criminal, commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp
To Leon Goldensohn, April 8, 1946, from "The Nuremberg Interviews" by Leon Goldensohn, Robert Gellately - History - 2004
Qutb al-Din Aibak (1150–1210) Turkic peoples king of Northwest India
Lal, K. S. (1999). Theory and practice of Muslim state in India. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan. Chapter 7
Wilhelm Reich book The Mass Psychology of Fascism
Section 2 : The Biological Miscalculation in the Human Struggle for Freedom
The Mass Psychology of Fascism (1933), Ch. 10 : Work Democracy
Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author
ABC News interview (16 August 2006)
U.G. Krishnamurti book Mind is a Myth
Source: Mind is a Myth (1987), Ch. 1: The Certainty That Blasts Everything
Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American politician, 40th president of the United States (in office from 1981 to 1989)
1980s, First term of office (1981–1985), Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation (1983)
Benny Hinn (1952) American-Canadian evangelist
[The Underground Christian Network, "Benny Hinn and Beyond: Word Faith movements hidden agenda: The Joker, The Guru and the Jack of Spades" http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=420067844, CD Edition 1 of 2, SermonAudio.com, 2006-04-21]
Martin Luther (1483–1546) seminal figure in Protestant Reformation
Source: The Freedom of a Christian (1520), pp. 78-79
Malcolm X (1925–1965) American human rights activist
" Malcolm X: Make It Plain http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/malcolmx/filmmore/pt.html," from The American Experience, season 6, episode 6, PBS (first aired 26 January 1994) <br class="br">Attributed
John Locke book Some Thoughts Concerning Education
Sec. 116
Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
2015, Remarks after the Umpqua Community College shooting (October 2015)
Jhené Aiko (1988) American singer-songwriter and recording artist
Interview with PETA; as quoted in " Jhené Aiko Poses Nude for PETA Anti-Fur Campaign http://www.rap-up.com/2016/12/06/jhene-aiko-poses-nude-for-peta-anti-fur-campaign/", Rap-Up.com (6 December 2016).
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Bengali polymath
“Swamy Shraddananda’, written by Rabindranath in Magh, 1333 Bangabda; compiled in the book ‘Kalantar’.
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
2011, Remarks on death of Osama bin Laden (May 2011)
R. A. Lafferty (1914–2002) American writer
"Golden Gate" in Golden Gate and Other Stories (1982)
Context: When you have shot and killed a man you have in some measure clarified your attitude toward him. You have given a definite answer to a definite problem. For better or worse you have acted decisively. In a way, the next move is up to him.
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) 16th President of the United States
1860s, A Short Autobiography (1860)
Context: Abraham now thinks that the aggregate of all his schooling did not amount to one year. He was never in a college or academy as a student, and never inside of a college or academy building till since he had a law license. What he has in the way of education he has picked up. After he was twenty-three and had separated from his father, he studied English grammar — imperfectly of course, but so as to speak and write as well as he now does. He studied and nearly mastered the six books of Euclid since he was a member of Congress. He regrets his want of education, and does what he can to supply the want. In his tenth year he was kicked by a horse, and apparently killed for a time.<!--pp. 9-10
“We must not burn down the house to kill the rats.”
Adlai Stevenson (1900–1965) mid-20th-century Governor of Illinois and Ambassador to the UN
Voicing opposition to the McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950
Context: The whole notion of loyalty inquisitions is a national characteristic of the police state, not of democracy. The history of Soviet Russia is a modern example of this ancient practice. I must, in good conscience, protest against any unnecessary suppression of our rights as free men. We must not burn down the house to kill the rats.
O. Henry (1862–1910) American short story writer
"The Fool-Killer"
The Voice of the City (1908)
Context: I know you. I have heard of you all my life. I know now what a scourge you have been to your country. Instead of killing fools you have been murdering the youth and genius that are necessary to make a people live and grow great. You are a fool yourself, Holmes; you began killing off the brightest and best of our countrymen three generations ago, when the old and obsolete standards of society and honor and orthodoxy were narrow and bigoted. You proved that when you put your murderous mark upon my friend Kerner — the wisest chap I ever knew in my life.
Norman Schwarzkopf (1934–2012) United States Army general
As quoted in U.S. News & World Report, Vol. 110, Issues 5 (1991 Feb 11), p. 32
Context: A professional soldier understands that war means killing people, war means maiming people, war means families left without fathers and mothers. All you have to do is hold your first dying soldier in your arms, and have that terribly futile feeling that his life is flowing out and you can’t do anything about it. Then you understand the horror of war.
Any soldier worth his salt should be antiwar. And still there are things worth fighting for.
“In a war of ideas it is people who get killed.”
Stanisław Jerzy Lec book Unkempt Thoughts
Unkempt Thoughts (1957), p. 21, http://books.google.com/books?id=NTtiAAAAMAAJ&q;=%22In+a+war+of+ideas+it+is+people+who+get+killed%22&pg;=PA21#v=onepage
Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas, in AbuDawud, Book 38, Number 4447
Sunni Hadith
“If you are a man of learning, fight in the skull, kill ideas and create new ones.”
Nikos Kazantzakis book The Saviors of God
The Saviors of God (1923)
Context: If you are a man of learning, fight in the skull, kill ideas and create new ones. God hides in every idea as in every cell of flesh. Smash the idea, set him free! Give him another, a more spacious idea in which to dwell.
Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English writer and humorist
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Future (2001)
Context: It's important to remember that the relationship between different media tends to be complementary. When new media arrive they don't necessarily replace or eradicate previous types. Though we should perhaps observe a half second silence for the eight-track. — There that's done. What usually happens is that older media have to shuffle about a bit to make space for the new one and its particular advantages. Radio did not kill books and television did not kill radio or movies — what television did kill was cinema newsreel. TV does it much better because it can deliver it instantly. Who wants last week's news?
“O killing north wind, cease!
Come, south wind, that awakenest love!”
John of the Cross (1542–1591) Spanish mystic and Roman Catholic saint
Spiritual Canticle of The Soul and The Bridegroom
Context: O killing north wind, cease!
Come, south wind, that awakenest love!
Blow through my garden,
And let its odours flow,
And the Beloved shall feed among the flowers. ~ 17
“In Aikido, however, we try to completely avoid killing, even the most evil person.”
Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969) founder of aikido
The Art of Peace (1992)
Context: In order to establish heaven on earth, we need a Budo that is pure in spirit, that is devoid of hatred and greed. It must follow natural principles and harmonize the material with the spiritual. Aikido means not to kill. Although nearly all creeds have a commandment against taking life, most of them justify killing for reason or another. In Aikido, however, we try to completely avoid killing, even the most evil person.
“If it will please the masses, don't hesitate to kill even your own son.”
Jang Bahadur Rana (1817–1877) Nepalese prime minister and Maharaja of Lamjung and Kaski
Quoted in letter (in Nepali) sent to his brother PM Bam Bahadur Kunwar. English translations retrieved from http://www.dipeshrisal.com/dibya-upadesh-of-sorts/ <br class="br">Context: If you want to earn good name, you must go of greed and comparison. If you see idle men in need of help, don't make them pay court to you, rather get some work out of them. If it will please the masses, don't hesitate to kill even your own son. Forget about jealousy and anger, forget about wealth, and make moves that please largest section of population. Don't hesitate to add good men to your inner council: given them status, but don't chase after status yourself. Make your countrymen, as well as foreigners, believe that you mete out justice fairly, and that you see everyone as family. If you have to lie in the course of politics, do it by deluding masses so that they remain happy. It will then be easy to remain Prime Minister. Otherwise, there will be trouble. If you do anything that makes people unhappy, you will face real danger real fast.
Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) German philosopher
Part III : Selection on Education from Kant's other Writings, Ch. I Pedagogical Fragments, # 9
The Educational Theory of Immanuel Kant (1904)
Context: Good and strong will. Mechanism must precede science (learning). Also in morals and religion? Too much discipline makes one narrow and kills proficiency. Politeness belongs, not to discipline, but to polish, and thus comes last.
Vita Sackville-West (1892–1962) English writer and gardener
"And so it ends" quoted in V. Sackville-West : A Critical Biography (1974) by Michael Stevens, p. 91
Context: Darling, I thought of nothing mean;
I thought of killing straight and clean.
You're safe; that's gone, that wild caprice,
But tell me once before I cease,
Which does your Church esteem the kinder role,
To kill the body or destroy the soul?
Andrew Jackson (1767–1845) American general and politician, 7th president of the United States
Some claim that Jackson said this on his deathbed.
Some websites also claim that this is inscribed upon Jackson's tombstone.
Misattributed
“Bigotry tries to keep truth safe in its hand
With a grip that kills it.”
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Bengali polymath
24
Fireflies (1928)
Context: p>Bigotry tries to keep truth safe in its hand
With a grip that kills it.Wishing to hearten a timid lamp
great night lights all her stars.</p
“There are no words that excuse the killing of innocents.”
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
Remarks by the President to the UN General Assembly https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/09/25/remarks-president-un-general-assembly (25 September 2012), quoted in "President Obama Condemns Both ‘Disgusting’ Anti-Islam Video And ‘Mindless’ Violence Before The U.N." http://www.mediaite.com/tv/president-obama-condemns-both-disgusting-anti-islam-video-and-mindless-violence-before-the-u-n/ by Andrew Kirell, mediaite.com. <br class="br">2012 <br class="br">Context: In every culture, those who love freedom for themselves must ask themselves how much they're willing to tolerate freedom for others. That is what we saw play out in the last two weeks, as a crude and disgusting video sparked outrage throughout the Muslim world. Now, I have made it clear that the United States government had nothing to do with this video, and I believe its message must be rejected by all who respect our common humanity. It is an insult not only to Muslims, but to America as well. [... ] I know there are some who ask why we don't just ban such a video. And the answer is enshrined in our laws: Our Constitution protects the right to practice free speech. Here in the United States, countless publications provoke offense. Like me, the majority of Americans are Christian, and yet we do not ban blasphemy against our most sacred beliefs. As President of our country and Commander-in-Chief of our military, I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day -- (laughter) -- and I will always defend their right to do so. (Applause.) [... ] The strongest weapon against hateful speech is not repression; it is more speech -- the voices of tolerance that rally against bigotry and blasphemy, and lift up the values of understanding and mutual respect. [... ] On this we must agree: There is no speech that justifies mindless violence. (Applause.) There are no words that excuse the killing of innocents. There's no video that justifies an attack on an embassy. There's no slander that provides an excuse for people to burn a restaurant in Lebanon, or destroy a school in Tunis, or cause death and destruction in Pakistan.
Thomas Paine (1737–1809) English and American political activist
The Crisis No. I.
1770s, The American Crisis (1776–1783)
Context: It matters not where you live, or what rank of life you hold, the evil or the blessing will reach you all. The far and the near, the home counties and the back, the rich and the poor, will suffer or rejoice alike. The heart that feels not now is dead; the blood of his children will curse his cowardice, who shrinks back at a time when a little might have saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.
My own line of reasoning is to myself as straight and clear as a ray of light. Not all the treasures of the world, so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an offensive war, for I think it murder; but if a thief breaks into my house, burns and destroys my property, and kills or threatens to kill me, or those that are in it, and to "bind me in all cases whatsoever" to his absolute will, am I to suffer it? What signifies it to me, whether he who does it is a king or a common man; my countryman or not my countryman; whether it be done by an individual villain, or an army of them? If we reason to the root of things we shall find no difference; neither can any just cause be assigned why we should punish in the one case and pardon in the other. Let them call me rebel and welcome, I feel no concern from it; but I should suffer the misery of devils, were I to make a whore of my soul by swearing allegiance to one whose character is that of a sottish, stupid, stubborn, worthless, brutish man.
John Locke book Some Thoughts Concerning Education
Sec. 116
Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)
Context: All the entertainment and talk of history is nothing almost but fighting and killing: and the honour and renown that is bestowed on conquerers (who for the most part are but the great butchers of mankind) farther mislead growing youth, who by this means come to think slaughter the laudible business of mankind, and the most heroick of virtues. By these steps unnatural cruelty is planted in us; and what humanity abhors, custom reconciles and recommends to us, by laying it in the way to honour. Thus, by fashioning and opinion, that comes to be a pleasure, which in itself neither is, nor can be any.
“A kiss would kill me, woman,
If beauty were not death…”
Stéphane Mallarmé (1842–1898) French Symbolist poet
Hérodiade.
Hérodiade (1898)
Context: A kiss would kill me, woman,
If beauty were not death...
By what attraction
Am I drawn, what morn forgotten by the prophets
That pours on the dying distance its sad rites?
Kurt Vonnegut (1922–2007) American writer
Speech at MIT (1985), referring to his brother Bernard Vonnegut, and the choices available to scientists and the intelligent, to serve humanity, or to betray it, as published in Fates Worse Than Death (1991), Ch. 12
Various interviews
Context: My brother got his doctorate in 1938, I think. If he had gone to work in Germany after that, he would have been helping to make Hitler's dreams come true. If he had gone to work in Italy, he would have been helping to make Mussolini's dreams come true. If he had gone to work in Japan, he would have been helping to make Tojo's dreams come true. If he had gone to work in the Soviet Union, he would have been helping to make Stalin's dreams come true. He went to work for a bottle manufacturer in Butler, Pennsylvania, instead. It can make quite a difference not just to you but to humanity: the sort of boss you choose, whose dreams you help come true.
Hitler dreamed of killing Jews, Gypsies, Slavs, homosexuals, Communists, Jehovah's Witnesses, mental defectives, believers in democracy, and so on, in industrial quantities. It would have remained only a dream if it hadn't been for chemists as well educated as my brother, who supplied Hitler's executioners with the cyanide gas known as Zyklon B. It would have remained only a dream if architects and engineers as capable as my father and grandfather hadn't designed extermination camps — the fences, the towers, the barracks, the railroad sidings, and the gas chambers and crematoria — for maximum ease of operation and efficiency.
Harun Yahya (1956) Turkish author
20 April 2013.
A9 TV addresses, 2013
Context: The proponents of violence are killing Muslims and they are killing Christians, they are killing Jews as well; they are enemies to everyone. Allah does not consider those people as Muslims. They are idolaters. They are pagans. I mean they do not accept the Qur’an as their basis.
“When it all comes down to dust I will kill you if I must, I will help you if I can.”
Leonard Cohen (1934–2016) Canadian poet and singer-songwriter
"Story of Isaac"
Songs from a Room (1969)
Context: When it all comes down to dust I will kill you if I must, I will help you if I can.
When it all comes down to dust I will help you if I must, I will kill you if I can.
“Innocent people were targeted for killing. Hospitals and ambulances were attacked.”
Barack Obama (1961) 44th President of the United States of America
2011, Address on interventions in Libya (March 2011)
Context: Innocent people were targeted for killing. Hospitals and ambulances were attacked. Journalists were arrested, sexually assaulted, and killed. Supplies of food and fuel were choked off. Water for hundreds of thousands of people in Misurata was shut off. Cities and towns were shelled, mosques were destroyed, and apartment buildings reduced to rubble. Military jets and helicopter gunships were unleashed upon people who had no means to defend themselves against assaults from the air.
Confronted by this brutal repression and a looming humanitarian crisis, I ordered warships into the Mediterranean. European allies declared their willingness to commit resources to stop the killing. The Libyan opposition and the Arab League appealed to the world to save lives in Libya. And so at my direction, America led an effort with our allies at the United Nations Security Council to pass a historic resolution that authorized a no-fly zone to stop the regime’s attacks from the air, and further authorized all necessary measures to protect the Libyan people.
“God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him.”
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German philosopher, poet, composer, cultural critic, and classical philologist
Sec. 125
The Gay Science (1882)
Context: God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it?