--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were to be forever at war with…" description: "\"We were to be forever at war with somebody. We were going to fight communism everywhere on earth even if it didn't threaten us. It was a holy war, just..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/gore-vidal-466_communism_we-were-to-be-forever-at-war-with-somebo_2488709.jpg" --- # We were to be forever at war with somebody. We were going… ![“We were to be forever at war with somebody. We were going to fight communism everywhere on earth even if it didn't threaten us. It was a holy war, just as we've made one on terrorism and Islam, equally stupid and equally irrelevant.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/gore-vidal-466_communism_we-were-to-be-forever-at-war-with-somebo_2488709.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/gore-vidal-466_communism_we-were-to-be-forever-at-war-with-somebo_2488709.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/gore-vidal-466_communism_we-were-to-be-forever-at-war-with-somebo_2488709.jpg) > “We were to be forever at war with somebody. We were going to fight communism everywhere on earth even if it didn't threaten us. It was a holy war, just as we've made one on terrorism and Islam, equally stupid and equally irrelevant.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Societies often create endless conflicts against imagined enemies, turning them into moral crusades. **In simple terms:** War is often fought over false threats. Key Takeaway Question the purpose of conflict. Themes politics war ideology Mood critical skeptical Type political satirical When to use this quote - foreign policy - media narratives - public opinion - activism Key Concepts propaganda moral panic Questions to Reflect On - What drives societies to label enemies? - How can we avoid endless wars? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex geopolitical realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communism/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Holy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy/) [Holy war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-war/) [Islam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/islam/) [Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorism/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [In the fight against the communism in history, only Codreanu didn't give up. He was a new kind of Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/in-the-fight-against-the-communism-in-history-only-codreanu-didn-t/) [Corneliu Zelea Codreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corneliu-zelea-codreanu/) > [“Authoritarian Communism is, and should be, forever tainted by those real-world laboratories. But what of the contemporary crusade to liberate world markets? The coups,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/authoritarian-communism-is-and-should-be-forever-tainted-by-those/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [We cannot fight communism all over the world, and I think we should have learned that lesson by now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/we-cannot-fight-communism-all-over-the-world-and-i-think-we-should/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [For Europe, the fall of Communism has to be taken into account, and the fact that in the fight against Communism the recovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocco-buttiglione/for-europe-the-fall-of-communism-has-to-be-taken-into-account-and-the/) [Rocco Buttiglione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocco-buttiglione/) > [ When you look back at the fight against Communism, one thing that is striking is the degree to which we \[the United States\] were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-e-hoffman/when-you-look-back-at-the-fight-against-communism-one-thing-that-is/) [David E. Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-e-hoffman/) > [“The malice of a true Christian attempting to destroy an opponent is something unique in the world. No other religion ever considered it necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malice-of-a-true-christian-attempting-to-destroy-an-opponent-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [ “Even a child could see the division between what the Galileans \[i.e., Christians\] say they believe and what, in fact, they do believe, as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/even-a-child-could-see-the-division-between-what-the-galileans-i-e/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [ “\[we are\] going to continue to fight communism. Now I am going to tell you how we are not going to fight communism. We… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/we-are-going-to-continue-to-fight-communism-now-i-am-going-to-tell/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [ We have got to fight it \[Communism\] with something better, not try to conceal the thinking of our own people. They are part of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/we-have-got-to-fight-it-communism-with-something-better-not-try-to/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [Now, we're used to thinking of communism as being once-upon-a-time-all-things-were-owned-in-common, maybe-someday-this-will-come-again. And people agree that there is a sort of epic narrative going on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/now-we-re-used-to-thinking-of-communism-as-being-once-upon-a-time-all/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [The last best hope of earth, two trillion dollars in debt, is spinning out of control, and all we can do is stare at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-last-best-hope-of-earth-two-trillion-dollars-in-debt-is-spinning/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [No one is now what they were before the war. There’s just no getting any of it back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/no-one-is-now-what-they-were-before-the-war-there-s-just-no-getting/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smedley-butler/war-is-just-a-racket-a-racket-is-best-described-i-believe-as/) [Smedley Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smedley-butler/) > [For a war to be just three conditions are necessary - public authority, just cause, right motive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/for-a-war-to-be-just-three-conditions-are-necessary-public-authority/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As the war was just in its origin and necessary and noble in its objects, we can reflect with a proud satisfaction that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/as-the-war-was-just-in-its-origin-and-necessary-and-noble-in-its/) [James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/) ## More by Gore Vidal > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Many people in the United States happen to believe that United States policy is wrong in Vietnam and the Vietcong are correct in wanting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/many-people-in-the-united-states-happen-to-believe-that-united-states/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“It is curious how little interested we are in the sexual desires of those who do not attract us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-little-interested-we-are-in-the-sexual-desires-of/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/style-is-knowing-who-you-are-what-you-want-to-say-and-not-giving-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The oligarchs think that the people are both dangerous and stupid. Their point is moot. But we do know that the oligarchs are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-oligarchs-think-that-the-people-are-both-dangerous-and-stupid/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is curious how often one prefers his enemies to his friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/it-is-curious-how-often-one-prefers-his-enemies-to-his-friends/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Rome ... at its most decadent, had never thought of hiring an actor to go through the motions of being an emperor while the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/rome-at-its-most-decadent-had-never-thought-of-hiring-an-actor-to-go/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [The malady of civilized man is his knowledge of death. The good artist, like the wise man, addresses himself to life and invests with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/the-malady-of-civilized-man-is-his-knowledge-of-death-the-good-artist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Sex is a continuum. You go through different phases along life's way... and if you don't, you've been sort of cheated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/sex-is-a-continuum-you-go-through-different-phases-along-life-s-way/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [All I want is that Americans still be able to read the alphabet in a hundred years. I am not very ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/all-i-want-is-that-americans-still-be-able-to-read-the-alphabet-in-a/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I do not admire 'the people,' as such. No one really does. Their folk wisdom is usually false, their instincts predatory. Even their sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/i-do-not-admire-the-people-as-such-no-one-really-does-their-folk/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“One of the problems of a society as tightly controlled as ours is that we get so little information about what those of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/one-of-the-problems-of-a-society-as-tightly-controlled-as-ours-is/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) [Explore all 539 Gore Vidal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## More Communism quotes > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/) [Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/) > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [“Despite Soviet 'defeat' in 1991, the ideas associated with Communism remain shockingly reputable throughout what we still know as the Free World.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-west/despite-soviet-defeat-in-1991-the-ideas-associated-with-communism/) Diana West > [Capitalism, communism ... it's all garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/capitalism-communism-it-s-all-garbage/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“Occult Theft,--Theft which hides itself even from itself, and is legal, respectable, and cowardly,--corrupts the body and soul of man, to the last fibre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/occult-theft-theft-which-hides-itself-even-from-itself-and-is-legal/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Motherland is our property and we have right to handle our properties as pleased. The jokes about death for the sake of the motherland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/motherland-is-our-property-and-we-have-right-to-handle-our-properties/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“Socialists and Progressives confuse compassion and compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-samaan/socialists-and-progressives-confuse-compassion-and-compulsion/) [A.E. Samaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-samaan/) > [Your best friends are your principles, if you havent them, dont look for another friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/your-best-friends-are-your-principles-if-you-havent-them-dont-look/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Our power does not know liberty or justice. It is established on the destruction of the individual will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/our-power-does-not-know-liberty-or-justice-it-is-established-on-the/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [A strong saying is not afraid of criticism, because it includes all the answers to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-strong-saying-is-not-afraid-of-criticism-because-it-includes-all/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [I think it's sort of the hypothetical point where communism and fascism meet. They love tragedy, and they love surface beauty. You just watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/i-think-it-s-sort-of-the-hypothetical-point-where-communism-and/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [Communism is inequality, but not as property is. Property is exploitation of the weak by the strong. Communism is exploitation of the strong by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/communism-is-inequality-but-not-as-property-is-property-is/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) [Browse all 1,510 Communism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We were to be forever at war with somebody. We were going to fight communism everywhere on earth even if it didn't threaten us. It was a holy war, just as we've made one on terrorism and Islam, equally stupid and equally irrelevant.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gore Vidal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/we-were-to-be-forever-at-war-with-somebody-we-were-going-to-fight/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/we-were-to-be-forever-at-war-with-somebody-we-were-going-to-fight/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/gore-vidal-466_communism_we-were-to-be-forever-at-war-with-somebo_2488709.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/gore-vidal-466_communism_we-were-to-be-forever-at-war-with-somebo_2488709.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7fa/gore-vidal-466_communism_we-were-to-be-forever-at-war-with-somebo_2488709.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We were to be forever at war with somebody. We were going to fight communism everywhere on earth even if it…” — Gore Vidal", "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": "Gore Vidal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We were to be forever at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/we-were-to-be-forever-at-war-with-somebody-we-were-going-to-fight/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/we-were-to-be-forever-at-war-with-somebody-we-were-going-to-fight/#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 } } ] } ```