--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... it would be better for our country…" description: "\"“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought stood for reason and the love ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/hermann-hesse-130_antiwar_it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-t_13198.png" --- # ... it would be better for our country and the world in… ![“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought stood for reason and the love of peace instead of heading wildly with blind obsession for new war.” quote by Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/hermann-hesse-130_antiwar_it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-t_13198.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/hermann-hesse-130_antiwar_it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-t_13198.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/hermann-hesse-130_antiwar_it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-t_13198.png) > ““... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought stood for reason and the love of peace instead of heading wildly with blind obsession for new war.”” [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates for rational, peace‑loving leadership over reckless militarism, urging thoughtful individuals to guide society toward reason and harmony. **In simple terms:** Reason over war Key Takeaway Intellectuals must champion peace Themes peace reason leadership war humanism politics Mood hopeful urgent reflective Type aphorism political philosophical When to use this quote - political decision‑making - public discourse - education reform - conflict resolution Key Concepts rationality moral responsibility societal influence Practical Applications - policy advocacy - peace education Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do thinkers have in shaping public policy? - How can societies balance security with moral principles? A Different Perspective Some argue that strong defense is necessary to deter aggression, suggesting that peace alone may not guarantee security. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antiwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiwar/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Pacifism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifism/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“As a cloud crosses the sun, silence falls on London; and falls on the mind. Effort ceases. Time flaps on the mast. There we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/as-a-cloud-crosses-the-sun-silence-falls-on-london-and-falls-on-the/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Man is not capable of thought in any high degree, and even the most spiritual and highly cultivated of men habitually sees the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/man-is-not-capable-of-thought-in-any-high-degree-and-even-the-most/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Everyone knew doctors made you ill, it stood to reason.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-knew-doctors-made-you-ill-it-stood-to-reason/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Apple stood for something and had a reason for being that wasn't just about making money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-ive/apple-stood-for-something-and-had-a-reason-for-being-that-wasn-t-just/) [Jonathan Ive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-ive/) > [“When the truth came out, and no one wanted to be around her anymore, it stood to reason Josie wouldn’t want to be around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/when-the-truth-came-out-and-no-one-wanted-to-be-around-her-anymore-it/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“Udžbenik "Geografija za nepismene" izlazi dnevno, kao novine, Narod mora biti u toku šta mu je od jutros Domovina, a šta više nije? Šta…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/or-e-bala-evi/ud-benik-geografija-za-nepismene-izlazi-dnevno-kao-novine-narod-mora/) [Đorđe Balašević](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/or-e-bala-evi/) > [The people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders...tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/the-people-can-always-be-brought-to-the-bidding-of-the-leaders-tell/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) > [I have learned from my own pain is that God's plan for all of us is peace. Being a role model to peace, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/i-have-learned-from-my-own-pain-is-that-god-s-plan-for-all-of-us-is/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [Why then would people look to the United Nations as an instrument of peace, if instead all it is, is an instrument of putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-fleischer/why-then-would-people-look-to-the-united-nations-as-an-instrument-of/) [Ari Fleischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-fleischer/) > [If it's naive to want peace instead of war, let 'em make sure they say I'm naive. Because I want peace instead of war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-b-ferencz/if-it-s-naive-to-want-peace-instead-of-war-let-em-make-sure-they-say/) [Benjamin B. Ferencz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-b-ferencz/) > [If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/if-everyone-demanded-peace-instead-of-another-television-set-then/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [We have to Build Bridges of Peace Instead of building Walls of Wars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/widad-akrawi/we-have-to-build-bridges-of-peace-instead-of-building-walls-of-wars/) [Widad Akrawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/widad-akrawi/) > [I could see peace instead of this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/i-could-see-peace-instead-of-this/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [“I came here for peace... Instead, I had landed neck deep in more responsibility than I'd had before I left.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-stark/i-came-here-for-peace-instead-i-had-landed-neck-deep-in-more/) Michael Stark > [“I witness that I’m out of alignment with my power. I choose to see peace instead of this.” This”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-bernstein/i-witness-that-i-m-out-of-alignment-with-my-power-i-choose-to-see/) [Gabrielle Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-bernstein/) ## More by Hermann Hesse > [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/) > [Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/therefore-i-see-whatever-exists-as-good-death-is-to-me-like-life-sin/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Fortunately, like most children, I had learned what is most valuable, most indispensable for life before school years began, taught by apple trees, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/fortunately-like-most-children-i-had-learned-what-is-most-valuable/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The mistaken and unhappy notion that a man is an enduring unity is known to you. It is also known to you that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-mistaken-and-unhappy-notion-that-a-man-is-an-enduring-unity-is/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The bird fights its way out of the egg. The egg is the world. Who would be born must first destroy a world. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-bird-fights-its-way-out-of-the-egg-the-egg-is-the-world-who-would/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/everything-becomes-a-little-different-as-soon-as-it-is-spoken-out-loud/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“..it is useless for you to build walls and dormitories and chapels and churches. Death looks through the window and laughs..”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-is-useless-for-you-to-build-walls-and-dormitories-and-chapels-and/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“When the world is at peace, when all things are tranquil and all men obey their superiors in all their courses, then music can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-the-world-is-at-peace-when-all-things-are-tranquil-and-all-men/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [A mere nothing suffices — and the lightning strikes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-mere-nothing-suffices-and-the-lightning-strikes/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“And if time is not real, then the dividing line that seems to lie between this world and eternity, between suffering and bliss, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/and-if-time-is-not-real-then-the-dividing-line-that-seems-to-lie/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Beautiful was this world, looking at it thus, without searching, thus simply, thus childlike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/beautiful-was-this-world-looking-at-it-thus-without-searching-thus/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Were not the gods forms created like me and you, mortal, transient?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/were-not-the-gods-forms-created-like-me-and-you-mortal-transient/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Although I know very little of the Steppenwolf's life, I have all the same good reason to suppose that he was brought up by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/although-i-know-very-little-of-the-steppenwolf-s-life-i-have-all-the/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) [Explore all 951 Hermann Hesse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) ## More Antiwar quotes > [In the struggle of good against evil, it's always the people who get killed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/in-the-struggle-of-good-against-evil-it-s-always-the-people-who-get/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [In the eyes of empire builders men are not men but instruments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/in-the-eyes-of-empire-builders-men-are-not-men-but-instruments/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [The statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-statesmen-will-invent-cheap-lies-putting-the-blame-upon-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [My first wish is to see this plague of mankind banished from the earth, and the sons and daughters of this world employed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/my-first-wish-is-to-see-this-plague-of-mankind-banished-from-the/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is a more violent world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-practice-of-violence-like-all-action-changes-the-world-but-the/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [One reason the United States finds itself at the edge of a foreign policy disaster is its underinformed citizenry, a key weakness in democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-halper/one-reason-the-united-states-finds-itself-at-the-edge-of-a-foreign/) Stefan Halper > [The worst evils which mankind has ever had to endure were inflicted by bad governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-worst-evils-which-mankind-has-ever-had-to-endure-were-inflicted/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [You cannot be on one hand dedicated to peace and on the other dedicated to violence. Those two things are irreconcilable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/you-cannot-be-on-one-hand-dedicated-to-peace-and-on-the-other/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [Free nations don't develop weapons of mass destruction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/free-nations-don-t-develop-weapons-of-mass-destruction/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [...Uncalled-for aggression arouses the hatred of the civilian population...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/uncalled-for-aggression-arouses-the-hatred-of-the-civilian-population/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [Studies by Medical Corps psychiatrists of combat fatigue cases... found that fear of killing, rather than fear of being killed, was the most common…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-lyman-atwood-marshall/studies-by-medical-corps-psychiatrists-of-combat-fatigue-cases-found/) [Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-lyman-atwood-marshall/) > [I believe that the entire effort of modern society should be concentrated on the endeavor to outlaw war as a method of the solution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-believe-that-the-entire-effort-of-modern-society-should-be/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [In war, as it is waged now, with the enormous losses on both sides, both sides will lose. It is a form of mutual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/in-war-as-it-is-waged-now-with-the-enormous-losses-on-both-sides-both/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/our-reluctance-for-conflict-should-not-be-misjudged-as-a-failure-of/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Be not dumb, obedient slaves in an army of destruction! Be heroes in an army of construction!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/be-not-dumb-obedient-slaves-in-an-army-of-destruction-be-heroes-in-an/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) [Browse all 409 Antiwar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiwar/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable of thought stood for reason and the love of peace instead of heading wildly with blind obsession for new war.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hermann Hesse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Antiwar" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/hermann-hesse-130_antiwar_it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-t_13198.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/hermann-hesse-130_antiwar_it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-t_13198.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/hermann-hesse-130_antiwar_it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-t_13198.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... it would be better for our country and the world in general, if at least the few people who were capable…” — Hermann Hesse", "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": "Hermann Hesse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“... it would be better for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-would-be-better-for-our-country-and-the-world-in-general-if-at/#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 } } ] } ```