--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nuclear weapons offer us nothing but a…" description: "\"Nuclear weapons offer us nothing but a balance of terror, and a balance of terror is still terror.\" — George Wald" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/george-wald-9544_balance_nuclear-weapons-offer-us-nothing-but-a-b_1097070.png" --- # Nuclear weapons offer us nothing but a balance of terror… ![“Nuclear weapons offer us nothing but a balance of terror, and a balance of terror is still terror.” quote by George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/george-wald-9544_balance_nuclear-weapons-offer-us-nothing-but-a-b_1097070.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/george-wald-9544_balance_nuclear-weapons-offer-us-nothing-but-a-b_1097070.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b41/george-wald-9544_balance_nuclear-weapons-offer-us-nothing-but-a-b_1097070.png) > “Nuclear weapons offer us nothing but a balance of terror, and a balance of terror is still terror.” [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nuclear weapons only create a balance of terror, which remains terror; they offer no true security. **In simple terms:** Nuclear arms create terror, not safety. Key Takeaway Advocate for disarmament. Themes politics security ethics Mood concerned serious Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - international negotiations - public education Key Concepts deterrence mutual assured destruction Questions to Reflect On - Is any balance of terror acceptable? - What alternatives exist for security? A Different Perspective Deterrence may prevent war but sustains fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Balance Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance-terror-2866767/) [Nuclear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear/) [Nuclear weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-weapons/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Terror Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror-balance-2866768/) [Terror Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror-terror-452684/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) ## Related quotes > [It's never right to fight terror with terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-never-right-to-fight-terror-with-terror/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Terrorism” is a word that has become a plague on our vocabulary, the excuse and reason and moral permit for state-sponsored violence— our violence—which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fisk/terrorism-is-a-word-that-has-become-a-plague-on-our-vocabulary-the/) [Robert Fisk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fisk/) > [“There was terror in each and every one of the people on that beautiful beach and on that breathtakingly beautiful evening. Terror of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/there-was-terror-in-each-and-every-one-of-the-people-on-that/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The aim is to balance the terror of being alive with the wonder of being alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-aim-is-to-balance-the-terror-of-being-alive-with-the-wonder-of/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“Work, beloved ones, work, for this is jihad... victory or martyrdom. 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It came with the dream, every time, and didn't recede with it but stayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/the-terror-the-terror-the-terror-lingered-and-there-was-something/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [“I think the world divides neatly into those who are excited by the managed induction of terror and those who are not. I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-think-the-world-divides-neatly-into-those-who-are-excited-by-the-2/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Its never right to fight terror with terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-macapagal-arroyo/its-never-right-to-fight-terror-with-terror/) [Gloria Macapagal Arroyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-macapagal-arroyo/) > [You can't make war against terror. Terror is a technique of battle. It's a tactic that has been employed since time immemorial. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/you-can-t-make-war-against-terror-terror-is-a-technique-of-battle-it/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [“I went to sleep feeling like a terrorist. But I wasn't going to kill people, I was going to bring them back to life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lodato/i-went-to-sleep-feeling-like-a-terrorist-but-i-wasn-t-going-to-kill/) [Victor Lodato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lodato/) > [There is no good terror and bad terror. Terror is terror. There's not terror that you can accept and terror that you cannot accept.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-sharon/there-is-no-good-terror-and-bad-terror-terror-is-terror-there-s-not/) [Ariel Sharon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-sharon/) > [Terror is terror is terror, and it doesn't matter what nationality that terror belongs to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reuven-rivlin/terror-is-terror-is-terror-and-it-doesn-t-matter-what-nationality/) [Reuven Rivlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reuven-rivlin/) > [“I think the world divides neatly into those who are excited by the managed induction of terror and those who are not. I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-think-the-world-divides-neatly-into-those-who-are-excited-by-the/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [How can Blair fight a war on terror? Terror is not an ideology or an army; terror is a technique.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/how-can-blair-fight-a-war-on-terror-terror-is-not-an-ideology-or-an/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) ## More by George Wald > [Civilization will end within 15 or 30 years unless immediate action is taken against problems facing mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/civilization-will-end-within-15-or-30-years-unless-immediate-action/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [So-called defense now absorbs sixty per cent of the national budget, and about twelve per cent of the Gross National Product.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/so-called-defense-now-absorbs-sixty-per-cent-of-the-national-budget/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [I have lived much of my life among molecules. They are good company.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-wald/i-have-lived-much-of-my-life-among-molecules-they-are-good-company/) [George Wald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-wald/) > [Evolution advances, not by a priori design, but by the selection of what works best out of whatever choices offer. 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Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. 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