--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a war that makes us adore our…" description: "\"There is a war that makes us adore our conquerors and despise ourselves.\" — Arundhati Roy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/arundhati-roy-346_adore_there-is-a-war-that-makes-us-adore-our-c_2634329.png" --- # There is a war that makes us adore our conquerors and… ![“There is a war that makes us adore our conquerors and despise ourselves.” quote by Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/arundhati-roy-346_adore_there-is-a-war-that-makes-us-adore-our-c_2634329.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/arundhati-roy-346_adore_there-is-a-war-that-makes-us-adore-our-c_2634329.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc5/arundhati-roy-346_adore_there-is-a-war-that-makes-us-adore-our-c_2634329.png) > “There is a war that makes us adore our conquerors and despise ourselves.” [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. War glorifies victors while eroding self‑respect, causing societies to idolize oppressors and reject their own worth. **In simple terms:** War makes us love conquerors and hate ourselves. Key Takeaway Question power structures and reclaim self‑value. Themes power identity colonialism self‑esteem Mood reflective critical somber Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - nationalism - activism - education - media analysis Key Concepts psychology political critique social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does admiration of conquerors affect personal identity? - What steps can restore collective self‑respect? A Different Perspective It can overlook the complexities of resistance and internalized oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adore/) [Adore Conquerors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adore-conquerors-2216591/) [Conqueror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conqueror/) [Conquerors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquerors/) [Conquerors Despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquerors-despise-2216590/) [Despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despise/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-makes-760064/) ## Related quotes > [And when we look in through the windows, all we see are shadows. And when we try and listen, all we hear is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/and-when-we-look-in-through-the-windows-all-we-see-are-shadows-and/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“You see, that's the thing with conquerors, they cannot stop conquering, for then they would have to start ruling, and my guess is Jarasandh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gourav-mohanty/you-see-that-s-the-thing-with-conquerors-they-cannot-stop-conquering/) [Gourav Mohanty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gourav-mohanty/) > [ He is hailed a conqueror of conquerors. \[Lat., Victor victorum cluet.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/he-is-hailed-a-conqueror-of-conquerors-lat-victor-victorum-cluet/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [Thank you, Lord, that You are the Conqueror and that You want to make us more than conquerors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corrie-ten-boom/thank-you-lord-that-you-are-the-conqueror-and-that-you-want-to-make/) [Corrie Ten Boom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corrie-ten-boom/) > [It is the right of war for conquerors to treat those whom they have conquered according to their pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-caesar/it-is-the-right-of-war-for-conquerors-to-treat-those-whom-they-have/) [Julius Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-caesar/) > [The best soldiers are not warlike; the best fighters do not lose their temper. The greatest conquerors are those who overcome their enemies without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-best-soldiers-are-not-warlike-the-best-fighters-do-not-lose-their/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Behold them, conquerors of the world, the toga-clad race of Romans!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus/behold-them-conquerors-of-the-world-the-toga-clad-race-of-romans/) [Augustus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus/) > [Conquerors never, never conquer a nation to bring freedom. 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Or, at any rate, the victors' version is given prominence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/history-is-almost-always-written-by-the-victors-and-conquerors-and/) [Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/) > [Which would you rather be, a conqueror in the Olympic games, or the crier that proclaims who are conquerors?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/which-would-you-rather-be-a-conqueror-in-the-olympic-games-or-the/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Napoleon, the greatest of the conquerors, is a sufficient proof that great men of action are criminals, and therefore, not geniuses. One can understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-weininger/napoleon-the-greatest-of-the-conquerors-is-a-sufficient-proof-that-2/) [Otto Weininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-weininger/) > [The "social contract," in the only sense in which it is not completely mythical, is a contract among conquerors, which loses its raison d'être…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/the-social-contract-in-the-only-sense-in-which-it-is-not-completely/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force--nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/they-were-conquerors-and-for-that-you-want-only-brute-force-nothing/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [Excellent conquerors do not engage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/excellent-conquerors-do-not-engage/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) ## 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? 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 Adore quotes > [I adore extravagance but I abhor waste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-copland/i-adore-extravagance-but-i-abhor-waste/) [Aaron Copland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-copland/) > [“I am happier when I love than when I am loved. 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If I become a good actress and be in movies where I'm expected to be a good actress,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-reilly/i-don-t-like-the-word-celebrity-if-i-become-a-good-actress-and-be-in/) [Kelly Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-reilly/) > [“I adore you, my greatest love, as only through you I can find my moment’s eternity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/i-adore-you-my-greatest-love-as-only-through-you-i-can-find-my-moment/) [Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/) > [“A spark of every fire we seek is already within us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamand-kojouri/a-spark-of-every-fire-we-seek-is-already-within-us/) [Kamand Kojouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamand-kojouri/) > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! 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