--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For most of my life, I would have…" description: "\"“For most of my life, I would have automatically said that I would opt for conscientious objector status, and in general, I still would. But the spirit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/david-rakoff-3308_beautiful-mind_for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automat_737556.jpg" --- # For most of my life, I would have automatically said that… ![“For most of my life, I would have automatically said that I would opt for conscientious objector status, and in general, I still would. But the spirit of the question is would I ever, and there are instances where I might. If immediate intervention would have circumvented the genocide in Rwanda or…” quote by David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/david-rakoff-3308_beautiful-mind_for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automat_737556.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/david-rakoff-3308_beautiful-mind_for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automat_737556.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/david-rakoff-3308_beautiful-mind_for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automat_737556.jpg) > ““For most of my life, I would have automatically said that I would opt for conscientious objector status, and in general, I still would. But the spirit of the question is would I ever, and there are instances where I might. If immediate intervention would have circumvented the genocide in Rwanda or stopped the Janjaweed in Darfur, would I choose pacifism? Of course not. Scott Simon, the reporter for National Public Radio and a committed lifelong Quaker, has written that it took looking into mass graves in former Yugoslavia to convince him that force is sometimes the only option to deter our species' murderous impulses. While we're on the subject of the horrors of war, and humanity's most poisonous and least charitable attributes, let me not forget to mention Barbara Bush (that would be former First Lady and presidential mother as opposed to W's liquor-swilling, Girl Gone Wild, human ashtray of a daughter. I'm sorry, that's not fair. I've no idea if she smokes.) When the administration censored images of the flag-draped coffins of the young men and women being killed in Iraq - purportedly to respect "the privacy of the families" and not to minimize and cover up the true nature and consequences of the war - the family matriarch expressed her support for what was ultimately her son's decision by saying on Good Morning America on March 18, 2003, "Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? I mean it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?" Mrs. Bush is not getting any younger. When she eventually ceases to walk among us we will undoubtedly see photographs of her flag-draped coffin. Whatever obituaries that run will admiringly mention those wizened, dynastic loins of hers and praise her staunch refusal to color her hair or glamorize her image. But will they remember this particular statement of hers, this "Let them eat cake" for the twenty-first century? Unlikely, since it received far too little play and definitely insufficient outrage when she said it. So let us promise herewith to never forget her callous disregard for other parents' children while her own son was sending them to make the ultimate sacrifice, while asking of the rest of us little more than to promise to go shopping. Commit the quote to memory and say it whenever her name comes up. Remind others how she lacked even the bare minimum of human integrity, the most basic requirement of decency that says if you support a war, you should be willing, if not to join those nineteen-year-olds yourself, then at least, at the very least , to acknowledge that said war was actually going on. Stupid fucking cow.”” [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker wrestles with the moral tension between pacifism and the necessity of force to stop atrocities, questioning when violence is justified. **In simple terms:** Balancing peace ideals against harsh realities of genocide and war. Key Takeaway Consider when force may be morally required. Themes ethics war pacifism responsibility moral dilemmas Mood reflective critical somber Type philosophical political ethical When to use this quote - humanitarian crises - policy decisions - personal convictions - public discourse Key Concepts just war theory human rights conscience political accountability Questions to Reflect On - When is force ethically permissible? - How do personal values shape public policy? 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If immediate intervention would have circumvented the genocide in Rwanda or stopped the Janjaweed in Darfur, would I choose pacifism? Of course not. Scott Simon, the reporter for National Public Radio and a committed lifelong Quaker, has written that it took looking into mass graves in former Yugoslavia to convince him that force is sometimes the only option to deter our species' murderous impulses. While we're on the subject of the horrors of war, and humanity's most poisonous and least charitable attributes, let me not forget to mention Barbara Bush (that would be former First Lady and presidential mother as opposed to W's liquor-swilling, Girl Gone Wild, human ashtray of a daughter. I'm sorry, that's not fair. I've no idea if she smokes.) When the administration censored images of the flag-draped coffins of the young men and women being killed in Iraq - purportedly to respect \"the privacy of the families\" and not to minimize and cover up the true nature and consequences of the war - the family matriarch expressed her support for what was ultimately her son's decision by saying on Good Morning America on March 18, 2003, \"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? I mean it's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?\" Mrs. Bush is not getting any younger. When she eventually ceases to walk among us we will undoubtedly see photographs of her flag-draped coffin. Whatever obituaries that run will admiringly mention those wizened, dynastic loins of hers and praise her staunch refusal to color her hair or glamorize her image. But will they remember this particular statement of hers, this \"Let them eat cake\" for the twenty-first century? Unlikely, since it received far too little play and definitely insufficient outrage when she said it. So let us promise herewith to never forget her callous disregard for other parents' children while her own son was sending them to make the ultimate sacrifice, while asking of the rest of us little more than to promise to go shopping. Commit the quote to memory and say it whenever her name comes up. Remind others how she lacked even the bare minimum of human integrity, the most basic requirement of decency that says if you support a war, you should be willing, if not to join those nineteen-year-olds yourself, then at least, at the very least , to acknowledge that said war was actually going on. Stupid fucking cow.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Rakoff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automatically-said-that-i-would-opt/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beautiful mind" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automatically-said-that-i-would-opt/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/david-rakoff-3308_beautiful-mind_for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automat_737556.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/david-rakoff-3308_beautiful-mind_for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automat_737556.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2e/david-rakoff-3308_beautiful-mind_for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automat_737556.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For most of my life, I would have automatically said that I would opt for conscientious objector status, and…” — David Rakoff", "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": "David Rakoff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“For most of my life, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automatically-said-that-i-would-opt/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/for-most-of-my-life-i-would-have-automatically-said-that-i-would-opt/#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 } } ] } ```