--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: War is not about flag-waving and…" description: "\"War is not about flag-waving and patriotism. War is about killing and death.\" — Chris Hedges" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/chris-hedges-2131_death_war-is-not-about-flag-waving-and-patriot_963709.png" --- # War is not about flag-waving and patriotism. War is about… ![“War is not about flag-waving and patriotism. War is about killing and death.” quote by Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/chris-hedges-2131_death_war-is-not-about-flag-waving-and-patriot_963709.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/chris-hedges-2131_death_war-is-not-about-flag-waving-and-patriot_963709.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/108/chris-hedges-2131_death_war-is-not-about-flag-waving-and-patriot_963709.png) > “War is not about flag-waving and patriotism. War is about killing and death.” [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War is fundamentally about death, not patriotic display; the reality is lethal and tragic. **In simple terms:** War equals killing, not patriotism. Key Takeaway Recognize the true cost of war. Themes war patriotism death Mood somber critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy debate - peace activism - education curricula Key Concepts military ethics human cost Questions to Reflect On - How does patriotism affect perception of war? - What can individuals do to expose war’s reality? A Different Perspective Patriotic narratives can obscure suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Flag waving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flag-waving/) [Flags](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flags/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“At the bottom of all patriotism there is war: that is why I am no patriot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-renard/at-the-bottom-of-all-patriotism-there-is-war-that-is-why-i-am-no/) [Jules Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-renard/) > [“Patriotism and war go together. 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I don't think that is in our interest, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-will-not-support-putting-american-soldiers-into-iraq-as-an/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Actually, if you could see close in my eyes, the American flag is waving in both of them and up my spine is growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/actually-if-you-could-see-close-in-my-eyes-the-american-flag-is/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [All of us ... should remember that no amount of flag-waving, pledging allegiance, or fervent singing of the national anthem is evidence that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/all-of-us-should-remember-that-no-amount-of-flag-waving-pledging/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [High national emotions are permissible when a soccer team is playing precisely because they are impermissible at most other times. There aren't, simply, many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/high-national-emotions-are-permissible-when-a-soccer-team-is-playing/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving picaninnies;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boris-johnson/it-is-said-that-the-queen-has-come-to-love-the-commonwealth-partly/) [Boris Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boris-johnson/) > [I am an old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness, flag waving patriot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/i-am-an-old-fashioned-honest-to-goodness-flag-waving-patriot/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-kelly/there-is-no-need-to-sally-forth-for-it-remains-true-that-those-things/) [Walt Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-kelly/) > [I think the personal and psychological aspects of war remain the same. War is about killing and dying. A man or woman stands at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/i-think-the-personal-and-psychological-aspects-of-war-remain-the-same/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [Setting aside human rights and international law to have an agenda of war and killing and occupation to me is totally unacceptable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mairead-corrigan/setting-aside-human-rights-and-international-law-to-have-an-agenda-of/) [Mairead Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mairead-corrigan/) > [Sports is like a war without the killing. Sports is like a war without the killing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/sports-is-like-a-war-without-the-killing-sports-is-like-a-war-without/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [War is killing the individual in it unless he has learned livingness - if he had it he wouldn't be a good soldier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/war-is-killing-the-individual-in-it-unless-he-has-learned-livingness/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [Sports is like a war without the killing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/sports-is-like-a-war-without-the-killing/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) ## More by Chris Hedges > [“the property that grounded the self in Romanticism was sincerity, and in modernism was authenticity, then in postmod ernism it is visibility.10”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/the-property-that-grounded-the-self-in-romanticism-was-sincerity-and/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Revolutionists who took part in uprisings in one part of the globe would often migrate to take part in uprisings in another. Francisco de…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/revolutionists-who-took-part-in-uprisings-in-one-part-of-the-globe/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Those captivated by the cult of celebrity do not examine voting records or compare verbal claims with written and published facts and reports. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/those-captivated-by-the-cult-of-celebrity-do-not-examine-voting/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Positive psychology is to the corporate state what eugenics was to the Nazis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/positive-psychology-is-to-the-corporate-state-what-eugenics-was-to/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Hope has a cost. Hope is not comfortable or easy. Hope requires personal risk. It is not about the right attitude. 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Those in power fear and dislike real journalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/no-real-journalist-makes-5-million-a-year-those-in-power-fear-and/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [“Just remember,' a Marine Corps lieutenant colonel told me as he strapped his pistol belt under his arm before we crossed into Kuwait, 'that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/just-remember-a-marine-corps-lieutenant-colonel-told-me-as-he/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [Most of these who are thrust into combat soon find it impossible to maintain the mythic perception of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/most-of-these-who-are-thrust-into-combat-soon-find-it-impossible-to/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [The imperial projects will continue, Wall Street will be unimpeded in its malfeasance and criminal activity, social programs will continue to be cut, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/the-imperial-projects-will-continue-wall-street-will-be-unimpeded-in/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) [Explore all 183 Chris Hedges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. 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Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“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/) > [I love life. 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