--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The burden therefore rests with the…" description: "\"“The burden therefore rests with the American legal community and with the American human-rights lobbies and non-governmental organizations. They can e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/christopher-hitchens-117_crime_the-burden-therefore-rests-with-the-amer_875464.jpg" --- # The burden therefore rests with the American legal… ![“The burden therefore rests with the American legal community and with the American human-rights lobbies and non-governmental organizations. They can either persist in averting their gaze from the egregious impunity enjoyed by a notorious war criminal and lawbreaker, or they can become seized by…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/christopher-hitchens-117_crime_the-burden-therefore-rests-with-the-amer_875464.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/christopher-hitchens-117_crime_the-burden-therefore-rests-with-the-amer_875464.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/christopher-hitchens-117_crime_the-burden-therefore-rests-with-the-amer_875464.jpg) > ““The burden therefore rests with the American legal community and with the American human-rights lobbies and non-governmental organizations. They can either persist in averting their gaze from the egregious impunity enjoyed by a notorious war criminal and lawbreaker, or they can become seized by the exalted standards to which they continually hold everyone else. The current state of suspended animation, however, cannot last. If the courts and lawyers of this country will not do their duty, we shall watch as the victims and survivors of this man pursue justice and vindication in their own dignified and painstaking way, and at their own expense, and we shall be put to shame.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Warns that legal and activist communities must confront war crimes or face moral failure, urging active pursuit of justice. **In simple terms:** Justice requires confronting impunity. Key Takeaway Stand up for victims. Themes justice human rights accountability Mood urgent critical Type political ethical When to use this quote - courtrooms - NGO advocacy - international tribunals Key Concepts legal ethics activism moral responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do lawyers have in war crimes? - How can societies prevent impunity? A Different Perspective Legal systems may be constrained by politics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burden Rests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden-rests-996238/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Henry kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/henry-kissinger/) [Human rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-rights/) [International law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/international-law/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Pursue Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursue-justice-996237/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Victims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victims/) [Victims Survivors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victims-survivors-917304/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War crimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-crimes/) [Watch Victims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watch-victims-996236/) ## Related quotes > [“Hitherto, the Palestinians had been relatively immune to this Allahu Akhbar style. I thought this was a hugely retrograde development. I said as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/hitherto-the-palestinians-had-been-relatively-immune-to-this-allahu/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“1. Bangladesh… In 1971 ... Kissinger overrode all advice in order to support the Pakistani generals in both their civilian massacre policy in East…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/1-bangladesh-in-1971-kissinger-overrode-all-advice-in-order-to-2/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [No one is above the law and that I would pursue justice on their behalf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-mosby/no-one-is-above-the-law-and-that-i-would-pursue-justice-on-their/) [Marilyn Mosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-mosby/) > [God wants us to relieve suffering, pursue justice, facilitate reconciliation, and free the heart to love, but He desires for us to do so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-b-allender/god-wants-us-to-relieve-suffering-pursue-justice-facilitate/) [Dan B. Allender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-b-allender/) > [If you demonize police, they move out, they don't work as hard. They don't pursue justice as aggressively, they don't police anywhere near the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-travis/if-you-demonize-police-they-move-out-they-don-t-work-as-hard-they-don/) [Clay Travis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-travis/) > [Henry Kissinger should have the door shut in his face by every decent person and should be shamed, ostracized and excluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/henry-kissinger-should-have-the-door-shut-in-his-face-by-every-decent/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Generally it must be stated that realpolitik has been better at dividing than at ruling. Take it as a whole since Kissinger called on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/generally-it-must-be-stated-that-realpolitik-has-been-better-at/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ “\[T\]hose who willed the means and wished the ends are not absolved from guilt by the refusal of reality to match their schemes.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/t-hose-who-willed-the-means-and-wished-the-ends-are-not-absolved-from/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I had real plans for my next decade and felt I'd worked hard enough to earn it. Will I really not live to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-had-real-plans-for-my-next-decade-and-felt-i-d-worked-hard-enough/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Hardest of all, as one becomes older, is to accept that sapient remarks can be drawn from the most unwelcome or seemingly improbable sources,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/hardest-of-all-as-one-becomes-older-is-to-accept-that-sapient-remarks/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“At a lunchtime reception for the diplomatic corps in Washington, given the day before the inauguration of Barack Obama as president, I was approached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/at-a-lunchtime-reception-for-the-diplomatic-corps-in-washington-given/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“To permit this gross new revelation to fade, or be forgiven, would be to devalue our most essential standard of what constitutes the unpardonable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-permit-this-gross-new-revelation-to-fade-or-be-forgiven-would-be/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“So many of the professional foreign policy establishment, and so many of their hangers-on among the lumpen academics and journalists, had become worried by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/so-many-of-the-professional-foreign-policy-establishment-and-so-many/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Victims and survivors deserve more than a person seeking a headline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamron-hall/victims-and-survivors-deserve-more-than-a-person-seeking-a-headline/) [Tamron Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamron-hall/) > [“Through the ages, many different groups have called themselves victims. Some came through wars and massacres. Some were slaves or minorities. But the Jews,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celso-cukierkorn/through-the-ages-many-different-groups-have-called-themselves-victims/) [Celso Cukierkorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celso-cukierkorn/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Crime quotes > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [“Crime and punishment can be summed up in two classifications: there are bad people and there are people who get into bad situations. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnie-dent-jr/crime-and-punishment-can-be-summed-up-in-two-classifications-there/) [Johnnie Dent Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnnie-dent-jr/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“The jailers, the Court, everyone in that building – it wasn’t about justice; it was about obedience and intimidation…about maintaining order. Fear accomplished that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-allan/the-jailers-the-court-everyone-in-that-building-it-wasn-t-about/) [Jay Allan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-allan/) > [Taking notes while watching Forensic Files and Snapped. I don't want to make the same mistakes the criminals do! ;)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/taking-notes-while-watching-forensic-files-and-snapped-i-don-t-want/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nations sometimes flourish by denying the crimes that brought them into being. Only when the original invasion, occupation, extermination or usurpation has been safely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/nations-sometimes-flourish-by-denying-the-crimes-that-brought-them/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [“a crime to fell a tree and light it on fire, where coals of hardened shit warmed and stunk up homes,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/a-crime-to-fell-a-tree-and-light-it-on-fire-where-coals-of-hardened/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [History is the study of the world's crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/history-is-the-study-of-the-world-s-crime/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Too much virtue can be criminal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-racine/too-much-virtue-can-be-criminal/) [Jean Racine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-racine/) > [The federal prison population increased by almost 800 percent between 1980 and 2013, often at a far faster rate than the Bureau of Prisons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-yates/the-federal-prison-population-increased-by-almost-800-percent-between/) [Sally Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-yates/) > [ \[P\]rogress, however, has not sufficiently infiltrated the Interior Ministry, affording protection to those who participated in the Bytyqi murders and other egregious Milosevic-era crimes. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avis-bohlen/p-rogress-however-has-not-sufficiently-infiltrated-the-interior/) [Avis Bohlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avis-bohlen/) [Browse all 8,359 Crime quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The burden therefore rests with the American legal community and with the American human-rights lobbies and non-governmental organizations. They can either persist in averting their gaze from the egregious impunity enjoyed by a notorious war criminal and lawbreaker, or they can become seized by the exalted standards to which they continually hold everyone else. The current state of suspended animation, however, cannot last. If the courts and lawyers of this country will not do their duty, we shall watch as the victims and survivors of this man pursue justice and vindication in their own dignified and painstaking way, and at their own expense, and we shall be put to shame.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-burden-therefore-rests-with-the-american-legal-community-and-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Crime" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-burden-therefore-rests-with-the-american-legal-community-and-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/christopher-hitchens-117_crime_the-burden-therefore-rests-with-the-amer_875464.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/christopher-hitchens-117_crime_the-burden-therefore-rests-with-the-amer_875464.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30e/christopher-hitchens-117_crime_the-burden-therefore-rests-with-the-amer_875464.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The burden therefore rests with the American legal community and with the American human-rights lobbies and…” — Christopher Hitchens", "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": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The burden therefore rests with the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-burden-therefore-rests-with-the-american-legal-community-and-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-burden-therefore-rests-with-the-american-legal-community-and-with/#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 } } ] } ```