#history

The groundswell of outrage over the invasion of Iraq often cited the preemptive war as a betrayal of American ideals. The subtext of the dissent was: 'This is not who we are.' But not if you were standing where I was. It was hard to see the look in that palace tour guide's eyes when she talked about the American flag flying over the palace and not realize that ever since 1898, from time to time, this is exactly who we are. ↗

— Sarah Vowell

#history #iraq

What better way for a ruling class to claim and hold power than to pose as the defenders of the nation. ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#conflict #government #history #politics #power

For the survivor who chooses to testify, it is clear: his duty is to bear witness for the dead and for the living. He has no right to deprive future generations of a past that belongs to our collective memory. To forget would be not only dangerous but offensive; to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time. ↗

— Elie Wiesel

#history #philosophy #duty

History is that certainty produced at the point where the imperfections of memory meet the inadequacies of documentation. ↗

— Julian Barnes

#memory

I didn't do improv in college, I never performed, I didn't do theater either. I was in student government, I was a history major. ↗

— Demetri Martin

#either #government #history #i #improv

The writer may very well serve a movement of history as its mouthpiece, but he cannot of course create it. ↗

— Karl Marx

#course #create #history #may #mouthpiece

The pull, the attraction of history, is in our human nature. What makes us tick? Why do we do what we do? How much is luck the deciding factor? ↗

— David McCullough

#deciding #factor #history #how #human

The arc of American history almost inevitably moves toward freedom. Whether it's Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation, the expansion of women's rights or, now, gay rights, I think there is an almost-inevitable march toward greater civil liberties. ↗

— James McGreevey

#american #american history #arc #civil #civil liberties

The public history of modern art is the story of conventional people not knowing what they are dealing with. ↗

— Golda Meir

#conventional #dealing #history #knowing #modern

Throughout the history of our young nation, we have seen our military go bravely into battle, armed with courage and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. ↗

— John M. McHugh

#battle #bravely #courage #go #history