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On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society

Book by Dave Grossman · 2 quotes · Killing, War, Atrocity

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On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society Quotes

“The soldier above all other people," said MacArthur, "prays for peace, for they must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war." There is wisdom in the words of these soldiers. There is wisdom in these tales of a "handful of ashes, a mouthful of mould. / Of the maimed, of the halt and of the blind in the rain and the cold." There is wisdom here, and we would do well to listen”

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Book:On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
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“Moral distance processes tend to provide a foundation upon which other killing-enabling processes can be built. In general they are less likely to produce atrocities than cultural distance processes, and they are more in keeping with the kind of "rules" (deterring aggression and upholding individual human dignity) that organizations such as the United Nations have attempted to uphold. But as with cultural distance, there is a danger associated with moral distance. That danger is, of course, that every nation seems to think that God is on its side.”

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Book:On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society
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