--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Have we raised the threshold of horror so…" description: "\"Have we raised the threshold of horror so high that nothing short of a nuclear strike qualifies as a 'real' war? Are we to spend the rest of our lives ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/arundhati-roy-346_fingers_have-we-raised-the-threshold-of-horror-s_2139703.jpg" --- # Have we raised the threshold of horror so high that… ![“Have we raised the threshold of horror so high that nothing short of a nuclear strike qualifies as a 'real' war? Are we to spend the rest of our lives in this state of high alert with guns pointed at each other's heads and fingers trembling on the trigger?” quote by Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/arundhati-roy-346_fingers_have-we-raised-the-threshold-of-horror-s_2139703.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/arundhati-roy-346_fingers_have-we-raised-the-threshold-of-horror-s_2139703.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/arundhati-roy-346_fingers_have-we-raised-the-threshold-of-horror-s_2139703.jpg) > “Have we raised the threshold of horror so high that nothing short of a nuclear strike qualifies as a 'real' war? Are we to spend the rest of our lives in this state of high alert with guns pointed at each other's heads and fingers trembling on the trigger?” [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions whether modern society has normalized extreme violence, making only catastrophic events feel like true war, and warns of perpetual high‑tension living. **In simple terms:** We treat only massive destruction as real war, living in constant fear. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge the normalization of perpetual threat. Themes war peace societal anxiety media nuclear deterrence Mood anxious critical reflective Type political philosophical warning When to use this quote - political activism - peace education - media literacy - public policy debates Key Concepts psychology of fear political rhetoric deterrence theory Questions to Reflect On - How do we define “real” war in today’s world? - What steps can reduce everyday high‑alert mentalities? A Different Perspective It may overlook less visible but equally harmful forms of conflict, such as economic or cultural wars. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear/) [Strikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strikes/) [Triggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triggers/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [Kim Jong Un, like all totalitarian leaders, wants above all to ensure his survival. He is convinced that a nuclear strike capability is necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/kim-jong-un-like-all-totalitarian-leaders-wants-above-all-to-ensure/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [“There were unofficial discussions at the time about what would have happened if, heaven forbid, that nuclear warhead had exploded on American soil. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakyo-komatsu/there-were-unofficial-discussions-at-the-time-about-what-would-have/) [Sakyo Komatsu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakyo-komatsu/) > [North Korea has the same ability to launch a nuclear strike against America as I do. It's like walking through a parking lot and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/north-korea-has-the-same-ability-to-launch-a-nuclear-strike-against/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [I propose the immediate launching of a nuclear strike on the United States. The Cuban people are prepared to sacrifice themselves for the cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fidel-castro/i-propose-the-immediate-launching-of-a-nuclear-strike-on-the-united/) [Fidel Castro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fidel-castro/) > [I am standing on the threshold of another trembling world. May God have mercy on my soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-sands/i-am-standing-on-the-threshold-of-another-trembling-world-may-god/) [Bobby Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-sands/) > [“ War ," Beranabus murmurs, face crinkling. "Most humans know nothing of true warfare. They wage their silly territorial battles, kill each other ruthlessly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-shan/war-beranabus-murmurs-face-crinkling-most-humans-know-nothing-of-true/) [Darren Shan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-shan/) > [Friction is the only concept that more or less corresponds to the factors that distinguish real war from war on paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/friction-is-the-only-concept-that-more-or-less-corresponds-to-the/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Guerrilla wars, and even more so terrorist assaults, are conducted only by forces with insufficient strength to carry out a real war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-black/guerrilla-wars-and-even-more-so-terrorist-assaults-are-conducted-only/) [Conrad Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-black/) > [The real war will never get in the books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/the-real-war-will-never-get-in-the-books/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [In real war an officer may have only one chance at succeeding. 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Specifically in the U.S., which happens to have a highly class-conscious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-war-against-working-people-should-be-understood-to-be-a-real-war/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“That for them, that war won't ever be over. I don't think any real war ever is - large, small, between countries, between people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-jensen/that-for-them-that-war-won-t-ever-be-over-i-don-t-think-any-real-war/) Nancy Jensen > [Soccer, metaphor for war, at times turns into real war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/soccer-metaphor-for-war-at-times-turns-into-real-war/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) ## More by Arundhati Roy > [...As the disparity between the rich and the poor grows, the fight to corner resources is intensifying. To push through their "sweetheart deals," to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/as-the-disparity-between-the-rich-and-the-poor-grows-the-fight-to/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Poverty is a crime and the poor are terrorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/poverty-is-a-crime-and-the-poor-are-terrorists/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Fiction and non-fiction are only different techniques of story telling. For reasons I do not fully understand, fiction dances out of me. Non-fiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/fiction-and-non-fiction-are-only-different-techniques-of-story/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [NGOs have a complicated space in neoliberal politics. They are supposed to mop up the anger. Even when they are doing good work, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/ngos-have-a-complicated-space-in-neoliberal-politics-they-are/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I've never been that person who thought that because I've written one novel, I should write another and another. It's only when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-ve-never-been-that-person-who-thought-that-because-i-ve-written-one/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [It is such a supreme folly to believe that nuclear weapons are deadly only if they're used.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/it-is-such-a-supreme-folly-to-believe-that-nuclear-weapons-are-deadly/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I think one of the saddest things that's happening to literature is that it's getting over-simplified by this diet of simple political ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-think-one-of-the-saddest-things-that-s-happening-to-literature-is/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The only dream worth having, I told her, is to dream that you will live while you're alive and die only when you're dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-only-dream-worth-having-i-told-her-is-to-dream-that-you-will-live/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [But what was there to say? 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It’s a good idea in this car-maddened city,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/stilts-the-ground-floors-given-over-to-parking-it-s-a-good-idea-in/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“Perhaps it’s true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/perhaps-it-s-true-that-things-can-change-in-a-day-that-a-few-dozen/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) [Explore all 628 Arundhati Roy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) ## More Fingers quotes > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. 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