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Following Orders Quotes

Browse 19 quotes about Following Orders.

Following Orders Quotes

“This is surely the main problem of the twentieth century: is it permissible merely to carry out orders and commit one's conscience to someone else's keeping? Can a man do without ideas of his own about good and evil, and merely derive them from the printed instructions and verbal orders of his superiors? Oaths! Those solemn pledges pronounced with a tremor in the voice and intended to defend people against the evildoers: see how easily they can be misdirected to the service of the evildoers and against the people!”

TotalitarianismWar Crimes1976NurembergOath Of OfficeFollowing OrdersOaths
Book:The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation, Books V-VII
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“Takamasa Saegusa: 'Seigen, a mere member of the Toudouza, had the effrontery to sully the sacred dueling ground. For that reason, our lord had already decided to subject him to tu-uchi before long. Cut off his head immediately, and stick it on a pike!' Gennosuke could hardly believe his ears. Such an insult to Irako Seigen was unwarranted. It was pride. For Gennosuke, Irako Seigen was pride itself. Takamasa Saegusa: 'Fujiki Gennosuke! It is the way of the samurai to take the head of the defeated enemy on the battleground. Do not hesitate! If you are a samurai, you must carry out the duty of a samurai!' Samurai... Saegusa, Lord of Izu, continued shouting, but Gennosuke did not attend. That word 'samurai' alone reverberated through his body. If one aims at the juncture between the base of the skull and the spine, decapitation is not that difficult, but Gennosuke could muster no more strength than a baby. He grew pale and trembled with the strain. He could only hack with his sword as if he were sawing wood. He felt nauseated, as if his own cells one after another were being annihilated. But this... Lord Tokugawa Tadanaga: 'I approve.' Takamasa Saegusa: 'Fujiki Gennosuke, for this splendid action you have received words of thanks from our lord. As a sign of his exceptional approval, you shall be given employment at Sunpu Castle. This great debt will by no means be forgotten. From this day forward you must offer your life to our lord!' Prostrating himself, Gennosuke vomited.”

ClassRegretDutyHonorMoralityConflictTraditionGuiltSoldierBetrayalObligationWarriorObedienceInsultServiceExecutionDisgraceSamuraiDishonorInner ConflictClass DistinctionFollowing Orders
Book:シグルイ 15
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“Q: What’s hard for you? A: Mostly I straddle reality and the imagination. My reality needs imagination like a bulb needs a socket. My imagination needs reality like a blind man needs a cane. Math is hard. Reading a map. Following orders. Carpentry. Electronics. Plumbing. Remembering things correctly. Straight lines. Sheet rock. Finding a safety pin. Patience with others. Ordering in Chinese. Stereo instructions in German.”

MenNeedsHardRealityRememberOrderReadingImaginationLinesRocksFindingsSafetyBlindFollowingMathChineseMapsInstructionSheetsMy ImaginationPinsStraight LinesBulbsElectronicsBlind ManPlumbingCarpentryFollowing OrdersSafety Pins
Author:Tom Waits
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“Later, with time, I learned that although all men are capable of good and evil, the worst among them are those who, when they commit evil, do so by shielding themselves in the authority of others, in their subordination, or in the excuse of following orders. And even worse are those who believe they are justified by their God.”

MenBelieveOrderEvilWorstAuthorityCapableFollowingExcuseCommitGood And EvilJustifiedSubordinationFollowing Orders
Author:Arturo Pérez-Reverte
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“We relinquished our freedom that day, and we were more than happy to see it go. From that moment on we lived in true freedom, the freedom to point to someone else and say “They told me to do it! It’s their fault, not mine.” The freedom, God help us, to say “I was only following orders.”-World War Z”

WorldWarMomentsHelpingOrderMinesFaultsFollowingWar Of The WorldsThat MomentGod HelpTrue FreedomGod Help UsWorld War ZFollowing Orders
Book:World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War
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“When it was reported to General Washington that the army was frequently indulging in swearing, he immediately sent out the following order: The general is sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing - a vice little known heretofore in the American army - is growing into fashion. Let the men and officers reflect "that we can not hope for the blessing of heaven on our army if we insult it by our impiety and folly."”

IfsMenLittlesOrderHeavenKnownPracticeGrowingFashionHe ManBlessingArmySorryVicesFollowingFoolishFollyInsultWickedOfficersCan NotSwearingProfaneCursingFollowing OrdersAmerican Army
Author:George Washington
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“For a while in my teens, I was sure I had it. It was about getting to heaven. If heaven existed and lasted forever, then a mere lifetime spent scrupulously following orders was a small investment for an infinite payoff. One day, though, I realized I was no longer a believer, and realizing that, I couldn't go back.”

IfsOrderHeavenRealizingForeverOne DayInfiniteMereLifetimeInvestmentFollowingBelieverI RealizedTeensTime SpentPayoffFollowing Orders
Book:Things I Overheard While Talking To Myself
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“What more fiendish proof of cosmic irresponsibility than a Nature which, having invented sex as a way to mix genes, then permits to arise, amid all its perfumed and hypnotic inducements to mate, a tireless tribe of spirochetes and viruses that torture and kill us for following orders?”

WayOrderSexHealthFollowingProofAriseTorturePermitMatesCosmicGenesHumankindTribesVirusesIrresponsibilityHypnoticFollowing Orders
Book:Self-consciousness: memoirs
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