“Dear rulers ... I maintain that the civil authorities are under obligation to compel the people to send their children to school. ... If the government can compel such citizens as are fit for military service to bear spear and rifle, to mount ramparts, and perform other martial duties in time of war, how much more has it a right to compel the people to send their children to school, because in this case we are warring with the devil, whose object it is secretly to exhaust our cities and principalities of their strong men.” PeopleIfsMenChildrenWarGovernmentSchoolStrongCitiesCasesMilitaryObjectsDutyBearsCitizensFitAuthorityDevilDearObligationRulersRiflesSpearsStrong ManMilitary Service Author:Martin Luther
“Germany, which has lately united 80 million Germans, has submitted certain neighboring countries to her supremacy and gained military strength in many aspects, and thus has become, as clearly can be seen, a dangerous rival to principal imperialistic powers in Europe - England and France. That is why they declared war on Germany on a pretext of fulfilling the obligations given to Poland. It is now clearer than ever, how remote the real aims of the cabinets in these countries were from the interests of defending the now disintegrated Poland or Czechoslovakia.” WarRealCountryCertainGivenInterestUnitedMillionsMilitaryDangerousEuropeAspectEnglandAimObligationFranceGermanyPrincipalFulfillingRivalsCabinetsSupremacyPolandPretextCzechoslovakia Author:Vyacheslav Molotov
“America should meet its obligations in the form of Social Security, Medicare, our ability to pay our military, legally binding legislation that allows unemployment compensation, the judiciary, the federal court system, the federal prison system, all those kinds of things have to be paid for.” ShouldKindAmericaFormSocialAbilityPaySecurityMilitaryPaidCourtPrisonObligationLegislationUnemploymentSocial SecurityCompensationMedicareBindingJudiciaryPrison SystemCourt System Author:Bill Johnson
“The highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is bearing arms.” MilitaryArmsHighestArmySoldierPrivilegeObligationCitizenshipBearing ArmsInspirational MilitaryMilitary Soldier Author:George S. Patton
“I certainly don't mean to suggest that all investigative journalism prior to 9/11 in the US was praiseworthy. But there were more examples to which one could point, and there were at last some activist photographers who understood that getting information into the public sphere in spite of military censorship was a right and obligation within democracy. That strain in war journalism did nearly vanish during that time.” MeanWarLastsDemocracyMilitaryInformationExampleUnderstoodPhotographerObligationJournalismSpiteActivistSpheresCensorshipStrainPraiseworthyInvestigative Journalism Author:Judith Butler
“I feel a special kinship for our military. Because, unfortunately, I became a wartime president. And committed our military in the defense of our country to difficult assignments. I tell people all the time, I don't miss much about being president; I do miss looking in the eyes of people who volunteered to serve. And so not only do I feel a kinship, I feel an obligation and a duty to help.” PeopleFeelsCountryHelpingEyeDifficultPresidentSpecialMilitaryMissingDutyCommittedDefenseObligationOur CountryAssignmentsKinshipWartime Author:George W. Bush
“Currently, the United States has troops in dozens of countries and is actively fighting in Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen (with the occasional drone strike in Pakistan). In addition, the United States is pledged to defend 28 countries in NATO. It is unwise to expand the monetary and military obligations of the United States given the burden of our $20 trillion debt.” CountryStatesFightingGivenUnitedUnited StatesMilitaryIraqBurdenDebtStrikesObligationDozenTroopsSyriaPakistanOccasionalMonetaryNatoDronesLibyaUnwiseYemen Author:Rand Paul
“As the wealthiest country with all the blessings that we have, do we have an obligation to help the outside world? I think we do, as we have an obligation to help everyone within our own borders. The problem is that this automatically gets translated into: "What's the point of having a huge military if we can't bomb people?" That's the problem that I have. Our foreign policy is essentially our defense policy.” PeopleThinkingWorldCountryHelpingProblemMilitaryPolicyBlessingObligationForeign Policy Author:Michael Hastings
“In present-day America, expressing reverence for those who serve in uniform is something akin to a religious obligation. Everyone professes to cherish America's "warriors." Yet such bountiful, if superficial, expressions of regard camouflage a growing gap between those who serve and those who applaud from the sidelines. Our present-day military system, based on the misnamed All-Volunteer Force, is neither democratic nor effective. Why has discussion and debate about its deficiencies not found a place among the nation's political priorities?” PoliticalReligiousMilitaryDemocraticDebatePrioritiesObligationWarriorDiscussionCherishReverenceSuperficial Author:Andrew Bacevich
“There's always something impressive when people are giving themselves to their job absolutely. The military thing - I was conscious that their routine, their way of living is so opposite to mine. In some ways their life seemed intolerable to me. But, mine would be to them, too, because this strangely laissez-faire life of mine actually comes with its obligations as well.” PeopleGivingMilitaryConsciousObligationImpressive Author:Geoff Dyer