--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For the past two weeks he's been feeling…" description: "\"“For the past two weeks he's been feeling so superior and smart because of all the things he knows from the war, but forget it, they are the ones in ch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/ben-fountain-3198_reality_for-the-past-two-weeks-he-s-been-feeling_2166449.png" --- # For the past two weeks he's been feeling so superior and… ![“For the past two weeks he's been feeling so superior and smart because of all the things he knows from the war, but forget it, they are the ones in charge, these saps, these innocents, their homeland dream is the dominant force. His reality is their reality's bitch; what they don't know is more…” quote by Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/ben-fountain-3198_reality_for-the-past-two-weeks-he-s-been-feeling_2166449.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/ben-fountain-3198_reality_for-the-past-two-weeks-he-s-been-feeling_2166449.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/ben-fountain-3198_reality_for-the-past-two-weeks-he-s-been-feeling_2166449.png) > ““For the past two weeks he's been feeling so superior and smart because of all the things he knows from the war, but forget it, they are the ones in charge, these saps, these innocents, their homeland dream is the dominant force. His reality is their reality's bitch; what they don't know is more powerful than all the things he knows, and yet he's lived what he's lived and knows what he knows, which means what, something terrible and possibly fatal, he suspects. To learn what you have to learn at the war, to do what you have to do, does this make you the enemy of all that sent you to the war? Their reality dominates, except for this: It can't save you. It won't stop any bombs or bullets. He wonders if there's a saturation point, a body count that will finally blow the homeland dream to smithereens. How much reality can unreality take?”” [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War knowledge can create false superiority, but ultimate reality is shaped by collective dreams and the unknown, questioning the enemy’s true nature. **In simple terms:** War knowledge can be misleading. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about power. Themes war knowledge reality identity power illusion Mood reflective serious Type philosophical political When to use this quote - military training - political activism - personal reflection Key Concepts epistemology collective consciousness psychology Questions to Reflect On - What defines the “enemy” in conflict? - How does collective belief shape reality? A Different Perspective The perspective may over‑generalize enemy motives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knows War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows-war-792592/) [Learn War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learn-war-780020/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Dominates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-dominates-4620458/) [Saturation point](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saturation-point/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-reality-779885/) ## Related quotes > [“God knows the war sucks, but he sees no great appeal in these tepid peacetime lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/god-knows-the-war-sucks-but-he-sees-no-great-appeal-in-these-tepid/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [Nobody really even knows with whom the US is at war, or where. Everyone just knows that it is vital that it continue in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/nobody-really-even-knows-with-whom-the-us-is-at-war-or-where-everyone/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Everybody knows that the dice are loaded, Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed, Everybody knows that the war is over, Everybody knows the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/everybody-knows-that-the-dice-are-loaded-everybody-rolls-with-their-2/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [“Everybody knows that the dice are loaded Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed Everybody knows that the war is over Everybody knows the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/everybody-knows-that-the-dice-are-loaded-everybody-rolls-with-their/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [The Führer confirms my impressions of yesterday. He would like an understanding with Great Britain. He knows that war with the British will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-halder/the-f-hrer-confirms-my-impressions-of-yesterday-he-would-like-an/) [Franz Halder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-halder/) > [What a man knows is everywhere at war with what he wants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/what-a-man-knows-is-everywhere-at-war-with-what-he-wants/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-de-gaultier/imagination-is-the-one-weapon-in-the-war-against-reality/) [Jules De Gaultier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-de-gaultier/) > [Television glorifies war, ... And the reality is we have some remarkably brave men and women who work through such challenging circumstances to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-price/television-glorifies-war-and-the-reality-is-we-have-some-remarkably/) [Dave Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-price/) > [Here's an easy way to see if a war movie is being truthful: If you see an explosion on a faraway hillside and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-junger/here-s-an-easy-way-to-see-if-a-war-movie-is-being-truthful-if-you-see/) [Sebastian Junger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-junger/) > [“Accepting things as they are is difficult. A lot of people go to war with reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-corrigan/accepting-things-as-they-are-is-difficult-a-lot-of-people-go-to-war/) [Kelly Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-corrigan/) > [Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-de-gaultier/imagination-is-the-only-weapon-in-the-war-against-reality/) [Jules de Gaultier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-de-gaultier/) > [Love is war & reality is hard as it goes by day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sokhom-du/love-is-war-reality-is-hard-as-it-goes-by-day/) [Sokhom Du](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sokhom-du/) > [My mind is a war field ready to go under attack. My heart is the soft tender bleeding sea of the demons that haunt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie/my-mind-is-a-war-field-ready-to-go-under-attack-my-heart-is-the-soft/) [Melanie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie/) > [“Held at bay by the hate of others, preoccupied with his own feelings, he was continuously at war with reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/held-at-bay-by-the-hate-of-others-preoccupied-with-his-own-feelings/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“I believe that the most tragic war of our time is the one within—a war between what we knew as children and what we’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vironika-tugaleva/i-believe-that-the-most-tragic-war-of-our-time-is-the-one-within-a/) [Vironika Tugaleva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vironika-tugaleva/) ## More by Ben Fountain > [“The singing triggers a soft detonation at his core, molten parts of him are flying everywhere and his ears ring to the tune of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/the-singing-triggers-a-soft-detonation-at-his-core-molten-parts-of/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“Even harder was describing his sense that Shroom’s death might have ruined him for anything else, because when he died? when I felt his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/even-harder-was-describing-his-sense-that-shroom-s-death-might-have/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“Without ever exactly putting his mind to it, he's come to believe that loss is standard trajectory. Something new appears in the world—a baby,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/without-ever-exactly-putting-his-mind-to-it-he-s-come-to-believe-that/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“But I am scared. Everybody's scared." "You know what I mean, like scared scared. Like coward scared, like if you never went to begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/but-i-am-scared-everybody-s-scared-you-know-what-i-mean-like-scared/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“God knows the war sucks, but he sees no great appeal in these tepid peacetime lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/god-knows-the-war-sucks-but-he-sees-no-great-appeal-in-these-tepid/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“What he'd like to say is that he's lived it, if not the entire breadth and depth of the Christian faith then certainly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/what-he-d-like-to-say-is-that-he-s-lived-it-if-not-the-entire-breadth/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [By the end of the first decade of writing, I considered myself a confirmed failure in the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/by-the-end-of-the-first-decade-of-writing-i-considered-myself-a/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [I started publishing stories in small magazines early on, but after seven or eight or nine years you feel like you need a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/i-started-publishing-stories-in-small-magazines-early-on-but-after/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“I think sometimes nothing is better than something. I mean, I’d rather have nothing than let this guy use me like his bitch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/i-think-sometimes-nothing-is-better-than-something-i-mean-i-d-rather/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“No it was my choice. It's what I wanted to do. And I knew they'd probably send me to Iraq. It's not like anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/no-it-was-my-choice-it-s-what-i-wanted-to-do-and-i-knew-they-d/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [It's amazing what happens when you stick yourself in a place and let things take their more or less natural course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/it-s-amazing-what-happens-when-you-stick-yourself-in-a-place-and-let/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“As if sorrow is the true reality? Without ever putting his mind to it, he's come to believe that loss is the standard trajectory.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/as-if-sorrow-is-the-true-reality-without-ever-putting-his-mind-to-it/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [If you want to see a bunch of happy Americans, go out to opening day at any baseball stadium in the land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/if-you-want-to-see-a-bunch-of-happy-americans-go-out-to-opening-day/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [There was no such thing as perfection in this world, only moments of such extreme transparency that you forgot yourself, a holy mercy if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/there-was-no-such-thing-as-perfection-in-this-world-only-moments-of/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) > [“He decides he wants both more and less. He’d like to hang out with Beyonce in a nice way, get to know her by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/he-decides-he-wants-both-more-and-less-he-d-like-to-hang-out-with/) [Ben Fountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) [Explore all 127 Ben Fountain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/) ## More Reality quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [In the Green Zone in Iraq you have your radio, you have your food, you have your own electricity, your own toilets. Everything is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-the-green-zone-in-iraq-you-have-your-radio-you-have-your-food-you/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [Check out the albums, ... Check out the live performances. That's the reality of it all. Music is such an energizing thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayall/check-out-the-albums-check-out-the-live-performances-that-s-the/) [John Mayall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayall/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [“The universe is not punishing you or blessing you. The universe is simply responding to the vibrational attitude that you are emitting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-hicks/the-universe-is-not-punishing-you-or-blessing-you-the-universe-is/) [Abraham Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-hicks/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [I started out dancing on a reality TV show, but always with the intention of making my way over to film. I transitioned into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-hough/i-started-out-dancing-on-a-reality-tv-show-but-always-with-the/) [Julianne Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-hough/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [With every product, the delta between the brand and the reality determines its power over the minds of consumers, and with Trump, that delta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wilson/with-every-product-the-delta-between-the-brand-and-the-reality/) [Rick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wilson/) > [Being under-recruited coming out of Highland, I've carried that with me. I keep pushing forward, keep working hard every day, keep my head on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-daniels/being-under-recruited-coming-out-of-highland-i-ve-carried-that-with/) [Mike Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-daniels/) [Browse all 19,710 Reality quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For the past two weeks he's been feeling so superior and smart because of all the things he knows from the war, but forget it, they are the ones in charge, these saps, these innocents, their homeland dream is the dominant force. His reality is their reality's bitch; what they don't know is more powerful than all the things he knows, and yet he's lived what he's lived and knows what he knows, which means what, something terrible and possibly fatal, he suspects. To learn what you have to learn at the war, to do what you have to do, does this make you the enemy of all that sent you to the war? Their reality dominates, except for this: It can't save you. It won't stop any bombs or bullets. He wonders if there's a saturation point, a body count that will finally blow the homeland dream to smithereens. How much reality can unreality take?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Fountain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/for-the-past-two-weeks-he-s-been-feeling-so-superior-and-smart/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Reality" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/for-the-past-two-weeks-he-s-been-feeling-so-superior-and-smart/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/ben-fountain-3198_reality_for-the-past-two-weeks-he-s-been-feeling_2166449.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/ben-fountain-3198_reality_for-the-past-two-weeks-he-s-been-feeling_2166449.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/60e/ben-fountain-3198_reality_for-the-past-two-weeks-he-s-been-feeling_2166449.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For the past two weeks he's been feeling so superior and smart because of all the things he knows from the…” — Ben Fountain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ben Fountain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fountain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For the past two weeks he's...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/for-the-past-two-weeks-he-s-been-feeling-so-superior-and-smart/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fountain/for-the-past-two-weeks-he-s-been-feeling-so-superior-and-smart/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```