--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know, there was a time at the…" description: "\"“You know, there was a time at the beginning of the 50's when this nuclear threat hung over the world, but the attitude of the West was like granite an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/alexander-solzhenitsyn-17299_detente_you-know-there-was-a-time-at-the-beginni_1043704.jpg" --- # You know, there was a time at the beginning of the 50's… ![“You know, there was a time at the beginning of the 50's when this nuclear threat hung over the world, but the attitude of the West was like granite and the West did not yield. Today, this nuclear threat still hangs on both sides, but the West has chosen the wrong path of making concessions.” quote by Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/alexander-solzhenitsyn-17299_detente_you-know-there-was-a-time-at-the-beginni_1043704.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/alexander-solzhenitsyn-17299_detente_you-know-there-was-a-time-at-the-beginni_1043704.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/alexander-solzhenitsyn-17299_detente_you-know-there-was-a-time-at-the-beginni_1043704.jpg) > ““You know, there was a time at the beginning of the 50's when this nuclear threat hung over the world, but the attitude of the West was like granite and the West did not yield. Today, this nuclear threat still hangs on both sides, but the West has chosen the wrong path of making concessions.”” [Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The West once stood firm against nuclear threats, but now it compromises, risking security by conceding. **In simple terms:** Strong stance protects against nuclear danger; concessions weaken safety. Key Takeaway Avoid compromising on critical security issues. Themes security politics history principles Mood cautious critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - international negotiations - defense planning - public discourse Key Concepts deterrence geopolitics morality strategic rigidity Questions to Reflect On - Is steadfastness always the best policy? - When should flexibility replace rigidity? A Different Perspective Concessions may be pragmatic; rigidity can lead to escalation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Detente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detente/) [Nuclear weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-weapons/) [Nuclear-threat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-threat/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wrong path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-path/) ## Related quotes > [Today, nuclear power provides 20 percent of power in the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/today-nuclear-power-provides-20-percent-of-power-in-the-united-states/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Today, nuclear energy costs about the same as coal, which is to say that it didn’t change the economics of electricity one bit.\*”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-anderson/today-nuclear-energy-costs-about-the-same-as-coal-which-is-to-say/) [Chris Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-anderson/) > [“Cynics have observed that those who have benefited the most from “progress”—the citizens of the First World—are the people most inclined to disdain it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-h-keeley/cynics-have-observed-that-those-who-have-benefited-the-most-from/) [Lawrence H. 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We could successfully resolve what American leaders seem to perceive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/we-probably-could-more-successfully-resolve-the-north-korean-nuclear/) [Bruce Bueno de Mesquita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-bueno-de-mesquita/) > [I have met with political leaders, legislators, and diplomats, seeking the next steps to press in reducing and eliminating the nuclear threat in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-douglas/i-have-met-with-political-leaders-legislators-and-diplomats-seeking/) [Michael Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-douglas/) ## More by Alexander Solzhenitsyn > [“Three thousand six hundred and fifty-three days. 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I have no knowledge of the world so I read in peace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solzhenitsyn/i-have-no-knowledge-of-the-world-so-i-read-in-peace/) [Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) > [“There is a law in the Archipelago that those who have been treated the most harshly and who have withstood the most bravely, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solzhenitsyn/there-is-a-law-in-the-archipelago-that-those-who-have-been-treated/) [Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Thanks to ideology, the twentieth century was fated to experience evildoing on a scale calculated in the millions. This cannot be denied, nor passed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solzhenitsyn/thanks-to-ideology-the-twentieth-century-was-fated-to-experience/) [Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) > [“He ate his supper without bread. 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What we remember is not what actually happened, not history, but merely the hackneyed dotted line they have chosen to drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solzhenitsyn/we-forget-everything-what-we-remember-is-not-what-actually-happened/) [Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) > [“You don't have to be very bright to carry a handbarrow. So the squad leader gave such work to people who'd been in positions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solzhenitsyn/you-don-t-have-to-be-very-bright-to-carry-a-handbarrow-so-the-squad/) [Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) > [Hastiness and superficiality are the psychic diseases of the twentieth century, and more than anywhere else this disease is reflected in the press.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solzhenitsyn/hastiness-and-superficiality-are-the-psychic-diseases-of-the/) [Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) > [The one and only substitute for experience which we have not ourselves had is art, literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solzhenitsyn/the-one-and-only-substitute-for-experience-which-we-have-not/) [Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Els dirigents passen, l'Arxipèlag perdura.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solzhenitsyn/els-dirigents-passen-l-arxip-lag-perdura/) [Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) > [“Art isn't a matter of 'what' but of 'how'.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solzhenitsyn/art-isn-t-a-matter-of-what-but-of-how/) [Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) > [“That bowl of soup—it was dearer than freedom, dearer than life itself, past, present, and future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-solzhenitsyn/that-bowl-of-soup-it-was-dearer-than-freedom-dearer-than-life-itself/) [Alexander Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) [Explore all 37 Alexander Solzhenitsyn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-solzhenitsyn/) ## More Detente quotes > [Communism will never be halted by negotiations or through the machinations of detente. 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Among several reasons, demonizing Iran reduces pressure on Israel to negotiate seriously with the Palestinians. Many Israelis prefer building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-richman/why-is-netanyahu-pushing-war-among-several-reasons-demonizing-iran/) [Sheldon Richman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-richman/) > [It is madness for any country to build its policy with an eye to nuclear war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-brezhnev/it-is-madness-for-any-country-to-build-its-policy-with-an-eye-to/) [Leonid Brezhnev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-brezhnev/) > [Following the missile crisis, detente started to gain ground between the United States and the Soviet Union, so the international political climate improved after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/following-the-missile-crisis-detente-started-to-gain-ground-between/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [Detente - isn't that what a farmer has with his turkey - until Thanksgiving?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/detente-isn-t-that-what-a-farmer-has-with-his-turkey-until/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The power and diversity of the Armed Forces, active Guard and Reserve, the resolve of our fellow citizens, the flexibility in our command to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/the-power-and-diversity-of-the-armed-forces-active-guard-and-reserve/) [Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [“DETENTE ESTATICO O SOL Y YO TE saludo ANTE TI ME ATREVO A hablarte.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/espronceda/detente-estatico-o-sol-y-yo-te-saludo-ante-ti-me-atrevo-a-hablarte/) Espronceda > [We are entirely for the idea that Europe shall be free from nuclear weapons, from medium-range weapons as well as tactical weapons. That would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-brezhnev/we-are-entirely-for-the-idea-that-europe-shall-be-free-from-nuclear/) [Leonid Brezhnev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-brezhnev/) > [In the years just before... during the Carter years, the Soviets regularly violated, if you will, both the spirit and theletter of arms control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeane-kirkpatrick/in-the-years-just-before-during-the-carter-years-the-soviets/) [Jeane Kirkpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeane-kirkpatrick/) > [Reverie is commonly classified among the phenomena of psychic detente. 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Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [I don't know why you use a fancy French word like detente when there's a good English phrase for it - cold war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/golda-meir/i-don-t-know-why-you-use-a-fancy-french-word-like-detente-when-there/) [Golda Meir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/golda-meir/) [Browse all 20 Detente quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detente/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You know, there was a time at the beginning of the 50's when this nuclear threat hung over the world, but the attitude of the West was like granite and the West did not yield. 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