--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's odd how those who dismiss the peace…" description: "\"It's odd how those who dismiss the peace movement as utopian, don't hesitate to proffer the most absurdly dreamy reasons for going to war: to stamp out..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/962/arundhati-roy-346_antiwar_it-s-odd-how-those-who-dismiss-the-peace_253052.png" --- # It's odd how those who dismiss the peace movement as… ![“It's odd how those who dismiss the peace movement as utopian, don't hesitate to proffer the most absurdly dreamy reasons for going to war: to stamp out terrorism, install democracy, eliminate fascism, and most entertainingly, to "rid the world of evil-doers.” quote by Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/962/arundhati-roy-346_antiwar_it-s-odd-how-those-who-dismiss-the-peace_253052.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/962/arundhati-roy-346_antiwar_it-s-odd-how-those-who-dismiss-the-peace_253052.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/962/arundhati-roy-346_antiwar_it-s-odd-how-those-who-dismiss-the-peace_253052.png) > “It's odd how those who dismiss the peace movement as utopian, don't hesitate to proffer the most absurdly dreamy reasons for going to war: to stamp out terrorism, install democracy, eliminate fascism, and most entertainingly, to "rid the world of evil-doers.” [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. Critiques the paradox of idealistic peace rhetoric versus the violent justifications for war. **In simple terms:** War is justified with lofty ideals despite being violent. Key Takeaway Question the moral logic behind war motives. Themes peace war ideology hypocrisy Mood critical reflective analytical Type essay political philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - activist meetings - media analysis - educational curricula Key Concepts political theory ethical paradox propaganda Questions to Reflect On - Why do people accept violent solutions? - How can peace be pursued without hypocrisy? A Different Perspective Idealistic arguments can mask geopolitical interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antiwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiwar/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Evil doers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil-doers/) [Fascism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fascism/) [Going to war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-to-war/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Stamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stamps/) [Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorism/) [Ubuntu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ubuntu/) [Utopian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utopian/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I've always been kind of fascinated by that whole movement, because, at the beginning, the Italian Futurist movement was utopian. And, in any kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-owens/i-ve-always-been-kind-of-fascinated-by-that-whole-movement-because-at/) [Rick Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-owens/) > [“Never stand in the way of letting God use people’s actions, in order to solve a greater issue in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/never-stand-in-the-way-of-letting-god-use-people-s-actions-in-order/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“Lord, we live in a world where violence thrives and the plight of the innocent is often overlooked. Precious peace making Father teach us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-holdsworth/lord-we-live-in-a-world-where-violence-thrives-and-the-plight-of-the/) [David Holdsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-holdsworth/) > [“We cannot stop the devil and evil doers testing us, but we can overcome them by being holy through the Word and prayer centered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-choi/we-cannot-stop-the-devil-and-evil-doers-testing-us-but-we-can/) Joseph Choi > [More harm is done by fools through foolishness than is done by evil-doers through wickedness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad/more-harm-is-done-by-fools-through-foolishness-than-is-done-by-evil/) [Muhammad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad/) > [Evil-doers who denounce the wise resemble a person who spits against the sky; the spittle will never reach the sky, but comes down on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/evil-doers-who-denounce-the-wise-resemble-a-person-who-spits-against/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [“The problem is that no matter how good your intentions, eventually you want to kill someone yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-cain/the-problem-is-that-no-matter-how-good-your-intentions-eventually-you/) [Kenneth Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-cain/) > [To a large extent the evil-doers have succeeded in producing at the output end of their machine a kind of black man who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/to-a-large-extent-the-evil-doers-have-succeeded-in-producing-at-the/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [Real non-co-operation is non-co-operation with evil and not with the evil-doer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/real-non-co-operation-is-non-co-operation-with-evil-and-not-with-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Heaven knows insanity was disreputable enough, long ago; but now that the lawyers have got to cutting every gallows rope and picking every prison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/heaven-knows-insanity-was-disreputable-enough-long-ago-but-now-that/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [For this purpose was I born, let all virtuous people understand. I was born to advance righteousness, to emancipate the good, and to destroy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-gobind-singh/for-this-purpose-was-i-born-let-all-virtuous-people-understand-i-was/) [Guru Gobind Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-gobind-singh/) > [The evil-doer mourns in the next; he mourns in both. He mourns and suffers when he sees the evil of his own work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-muller/the-evil-doer-mourns-in-the-next-he-mourns-in-both-he-mourns-and/) [Max Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-muller/) > [“The aim of the sinless One consists in acting without causing sorrow to others, although he could attain to great power by ignoring their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/the-aim-of-the-sinless-one-consists-in-acting-without-causing-sorrow/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [My administration has a job to do and we're going to do it. We will rid the world of the evil-doers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/my-administration-has-a-job-to-do-and-we-re-going-to-do-it-we-will/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [No one punishes the evil-doer under the notion, or for the reason, that he has done wrong -- only the unreasonable fury of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/no-one-punishes-the-evil-doer-under-the-notion-or-for-the-reason-that/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## 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. 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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? Only that there were tears. Only that Quietness and Emptiness fitted together like stacked spoons. Only that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/but-what-was-there-to-say-only-that-there-were-tears-only-that/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Truly, there's no alternative to stupidity. Cretinism is the mother of fascism. I have no defence against it, really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/truly-there-s-no-alternative-to-stupidity-cretinism-is-the-mother-of/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/the-secret-of-the-great-stories-is-that-they-have-no-secrets-the/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“stilts, the ground floors given over to parking. 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 Antiwar quotes > [In the struggle of good against evil, it's always the people who get killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/in-the-struggle-of-good-against-evil-it-s-always-the-people-who-get/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [In the eyes of empire builders men are not men but instruments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/in-the-eyes-of-empire-builders-men-are-not-men-but-instruments/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-statesmen-will-invent-cheap-lies-putting-the-blame-upon-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [My first wish is to see this plague of mankind banished from the earth, and the sons and daughters of this world employed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/my-first-wish-is-to-see-this-plague-of-mankind-banished-from-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is a more violent world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-practice-of-violence-like-all-action-changes-the-world-but-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [One reason the United States finds itself at the edge of a foreign policy disaster is its underinformed citizenry, a key weakness in democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-halper/one-reason-the-united-states-finds-itself-at-the-edge-of-a-foreign/) Stefan Halper > [The worst evils which mankind has ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-worst-evils-which-mankind-has-ever-had-to-endure-were-inflicted/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [You cannot be on one hand dedicated to peace and on the other dedicated to violence. Those two things are irreconcilable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/you-cannot-be-on-one-hand-dedicated-to-peace-and-on-the-other/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/free-nations-don-t-develop-weapons-of-mass-destruction/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [...Uncalled-for aggression arouses the hatred of the civilian population...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/uncalled-for-aggression-arouses-the-hatred-of-the-civilian-population/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Studies by Medical Corps psychiatrists of combat fatigue cases... found that fear of killing, rather than fear of being killed, was the most common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lyman-atwood-marshall/studies-by-medical-corps-psychiatrists-of-combat-fatigue-cases-found/) [Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lyman-atwood-marshall/) > [I believe that the entire effort of modern society should be concentrated on the endeavor to outlaw war as a method of the solution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-believe-that-the-entire-effort-of-modern-society-should-be/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [In war, as it is waged now, with the enormous losses on both sides, both sides will lose. 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