Quotes from book
Give War a Chance

Give War a Chance
P. J. O'Rourke

Give War a Chance is a 1992 book by American writer P J O'Rourke.

P. J. O'Rourke photo

“At the core of liberalism is the spoiled child — miserable, as all spoiled children are, unsatisfied, demanding, ill-disciplined, despotic and useless. Liberalism is a philosophy of sniveling brats.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Give War a Chance

Give War a Chance (1992)

P. J. O'Rourke photo

“You can't get good Chinese takeout in China and Cuban cigars are rationed in Cuba. That's all you need to know about communism.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Give War a Chance

Give War a Chance (1992)

P. J. O'Rourke photo

“The second item in the liberal creed, after self-righteousness, is unaccountability. Liberals have invented whole college majors— psychology, sociology, women's studies— to prove that nothing is anybody's fault. No one is fond of taking responsibility for his actions, but consider how much you'd have to hate free will to come up with a political platform that advocates killing unborn babies but not convicted murderers. A callous pragmatist might favor abortion and capital punishment. A devout Christian would sanction neither. But it takes years of therapy to arrive at the liberal view.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Give War a Chance

Give War a Chance (1992)

P. J. O'Rourke photo

“The principal feature of American liberalism is sanctimoniousness. By loudly denouncing all bad things — war and hunger and date rape — liberals testify to their own terrific goodness. More important, they promote themselves to membership in a self-selecting elite of those who care deeply about such things…. It's a kind of natural aristocracy, and the wonderful thing about this aristocracy is that you don't have to be brave, smart, strong or even lucky to join it, you just have to be liberal.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Give War a Chance

Give War a Chance (1992)

P. J. O'Rourke photo

“I have often been called a Nazi, and, although it is unfair, I don't let it bother me. I don't let it bother me for one simple reason. No one has ever had a fantasy about being tied to a bed and sexually ravished by someone dressed as a liberal.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Give War a Chance

Give War a Chance (1992)

P. J. O'Rourke photo

“The Third World attitude toward the United States is also easy to understand if you think of it in terms of adolescence. The citizens of the Third World are in a teenage muddle about us--full of envy, imitation, anger and blind puppy love. I have been held at gunpoint by a Shi'ite youth in West Beirut who told me in one breath that America was "pig Satan devil" and that he planned to go to dental school in Dearborn as soon as he got his green card. In Ulundi, in Zululand, I talked to a young man who, as usual, blamed apartheid on the United States. However, he had just visited the U. S. with a church group and also told me, "Everything is so wonderful there. The race relations are so good. And everyone is rich."”

P. J. O'Rourke book Give War a Chance

Just what part of America had he visited, I asked. "The South Side of Chicago," he said.
Give War a Chance (1992)

P. J. O'Rourke photo

“You can't shame or humiliate modern celebrities. What used to be called shame and humiliation is now called publicity. And forget traditional character assassination; if you say a modern celebrity is an adulterer, a pervert and a drug addict, all it means is that you've read his autobiography.”

P. J. O'Rourke book Give War a Chance

Give War a Chance (1992)

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