"We thought that we had suffered all our wars and now we could enjoy a time of peace and tranquillity. However, people never learn and a newer type of war was to envelope us. We seem doomed to repeat all our mistakes and find that we are being groomed, and doomed, by the legions of war, Odin's messengers, who would have us believe that aggression is the only way forward. Now we live in a war zone, the entire world."

Ralph Steadman Literature See all quotes by Ralph Steadman →

React to this quote

More by Ralph Steadman

“' Don't write, Ralph. You'll bring shame on your family. ' -- Hunter S. Thompson”

“I don't think that at the time, or now, come to think of it, I gave a damn. Foolishly, I wanted truth and idealism, but there was none to be had.”

“'Happiness is a Small Politician' - my mantra then and forever more.”

“Today we are sacks of shit bundled into flying tubes with a security warning secreted inside every orifice.”

“One can derive the same fun from print-making as from making mud pies and great subtlety can be achieved through the use of transparent inks, half-tone screens and even accidental colour combinations, which is often where the art hides.”

“Beware of privilege. It stinks of rotten rotten fish heads, many of which were lapping the shore beneath the jetties.”

Resonant Thoughts

"I think Mrs Thatcher, Lady Thatcher, saw the need for change and I think whatever disagreements you have with her about certain policies - there was a large amount of unemployment at the time which pe…"

— Gordon Brown

Politics1947–2001

#faith

"Both the existence of these parallels and their tragic nature would not have escaped Charles Kindleberger, whose World in Depression, 1929-1939 was published exactly 40 years ago, in 1973. Where Kindl…"

— Barry Eichengreen

Economics1952

#leadership

"I am not a dictator, I am the president. I know this has been some of the conventional wisdom floating around Washington, that somehow even though most people agree that I’m being reasonable, that mos…"

— Barack Obama

Politics1961

#philosophy

"I always thought being a Shadowhunter meant that I had to approve of what the Clave did. I thought otherwise I wasn't loyal. I made excuses for them. I always have. But I feel like whenever we have to…"

— Cassandra Clare

Literature1973

#war