--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We do not merely destroy our enemies; we…" description: "\"We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.\" — George Orwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/george-orwell-57_change_we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we_1274970.jpg" --- # We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them. ![“We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/george-orwell-57_change_we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we_1274970.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/george-orwell-57_change_we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we_1274970.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/george-orwell-57_change_we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we_1274970.jpg) > “We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Destroying enemies is insufficient; true change requires transforming their beliefs and structures. **In simple terms:** Changing enemies involves altering their mindset, not just eliminating them. Key Takeaway Focus on ideological change, not just physical defeat. Themes politics war psychology transformation Mood critical thoughtful strategic Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political campaigns - conflict resolution - education reform - de‑radicalization Key Concepts propaganda cognitive change power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What methods effectively change an opponent’s worldview? - Can force ever truly transform beliefs? A Different Perspective Changing minds can be slower and more complex than physical victory. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Enemies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemies/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) ## Related quotes > [“We do not merely destroy our enemies, we change them. Do you understand what I mean by that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we-change-them-do-you-understand/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The Party is not interested in the overt act: the thought is all we care about. We do not merely destroy our enemies, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-party-is-not-interested-in-the-overt-act-the-thought-is-all-we-2/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > ['Hairspray' maybe did change people's minds, and that's how you get your political enemies to change their minds - by making them laugh and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/hairspray-maybe-did-change-people-s-minds-and-that-s-how-you-get-your/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [“I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.” ~Abraham Lincoln”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ilian/i-destroy-my-enemies-when-i-make-them-my-friends-abraham-lincoln/) [George Ilian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ilian/) > [Change happened and you thought it was forever, and immediately there were all the enemies of that change making common cause and meeting in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-cherryh-2/change-happened-and-you-thought-it-was-forever-and-immediately-there/) [C. J. Cherryh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-cherryh-2/) > [Don't waste time blaming yourself when you can spend time planning how to destroy our enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/don-t-waste-time-blaming-yourself-when-you-can-spend-time-planning/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/do-i-not-destroy-my-enemies-when-i-make-them-my-friends/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I will destroy my enemies by converting them to friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/i-will-destroy-my-enemies-by-converting-them-to-friends/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-destroy-my-enemies-when-i-make-them-my-friends/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [To conquer, we must destroy our enemies. We must not only die gallantly; we must kill devastatingly. The faster and more effectively you kill,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-patton/to-conquer-we-must-destroy-our-enemies-we-must-not-only-die-gallantly/) [George S. Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-patton/) > [A good king knows when to save his strength and when to destroy his enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-good-king-knows-when-to-save-his-strength-and-when-to-destroy-his/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Never rush to destroy your enemies. Let them live long enough to see your success”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/never-rush-to-destroy-your-enemies-let-them-live-long-enough-to-see/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [“Enemies Teach. Friends Preach.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tapan-ghosh/enemies-teach-friends-preach/) [Tapan Ghosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tapan-ghosh/) > [I don't see why we and the Chinese should have to be enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/i-don-t-see-why-we-and-the-chinese-should-have-to-be-enemies/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“Never let your Enemies become your Advocates.” by A. K. Hasan”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-k-hasan/never-let-your-enemies-become-your-advocates-by-a-k-hasan/) A.K. Hasan ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Change 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/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [“After the funeral, my life changed. I felt as if time were suddenly precious, water going down an open drain, and I could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/after-the-funeral-my-life-changed-i-felt-as-if-time-were-suddenly/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [You practice mindfulness, on the one hand, to be calm and peaceful. On the other hand, as you practice mindfulness and live a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-practice-mindfulness-on-the-one-hand-to-be-calm-and-peaceful-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Irish research will contribute to global progress and have the potential to help all countries realise the potential of their land sectors in addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enda-kenny/irish-research-will-contribute-to-global-progress-and-have-the/) [Enda Kenny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enda-kenny/) > [No man can change himself into anything from sheer reason; he can only change into what he potentially is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/no-man-can-change-himself-into-anything-from-sheer-reason-he-can-only/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 33,920 Change quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we-change-them/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Change" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we-change-them/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/george-orwell-57_change_we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we_1274970.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/george-orwell-57_change_we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we_1274970.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/673/george-orwell-57_change_we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we_1274970.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We do not merely destroy our enemies; we change them.” — George Orwell", "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": "George Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We do not merely destroy our...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we-change-them/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/we-do-not-merely-destroy-our-enemies-we-change-them/#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 } } ] } ```