---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And the New York Journal of Commerce…"
description: "\"“And the New York Journal of Commerce, half-playfully, half-seriously, wrote: \"Let us go to war. The world has become stale and insipid, the ships ough..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/howard-zinn-576_war_and-the-new-york-journal-of-commerce-hal_1131337.jpg"
---

#  And the New York Journal of Commerce, half-playfully…

![“And the New York Journal of Commerce, half-playfully, half-seriously, wrote: &quot;Let us go to war. The world has become stale and insipid, the ships ought all to be captured, and the cities battered down, and the world burned up, so that we can start again. There would be fun in that, Some interest…” quote by Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/howard-zinn-576_war_and-the-new-york-journal-of-commerce-hal_1131337.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/howard-zinn-576_war_and-the-new-york-journal-of-commerce-hal_1131337.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/howard-zinn-576_war_and-the-new-york-journal-of-commerce-hal_1131337.jpg)

> ““And the New York Journal of Commerce, half-playfully, half-seriously, wrote: "Let us go to war. The world has become stale and insipid, the ships ought all to be captured, and the cities battered down, and the world burned up, so that we can start again. There would be fun in that, Some interest, — something to talk about.””

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A satirical suggestion that war could reset a stagnant world, highlighting human fascination with destruction as a catalyst for change.

**In simple terms:** War as a reset button for a boring world.

Key Takeaway

Question the allure of drastic change.

Themes

war human nature politics

Mood

cynical critical

Type

satirical political

When to use this quote

- political debate
- historical analysis
- media criticism

Key Concepts

nihilism revolution catharsis

Questions to Reflect On

- Is destruction ever justified to spark renewal?
- What peaceful alternatives exist?

A Different Perspective

Such extreme solutions ignore ethical costs and long‑term fallout.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fun Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun-talk-759007/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-world-274068/) [World Burned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-burned-3109562/) [World Stale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-stale-760339/) [York Journal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york-journal-3109563/)

## Related quotes

> [“When she had died, his anchor was gone and the world had burned from his untethered insanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-nye/when-she-had-died-his-anchor-was-gone-and-the-world-had-burned-from/)

[Cedric Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-nye/)

> [Mr. Wodehouse's idyllic world can never stale. He will continue to release future generations from captivity that may be more irksome than our own.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/mr-wodehouse-s-idyllic-world-can-never-stale-he-will-continue-to/)

[Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/)

> [It's a long way from not having enough serotonin to thinking the world is "stale, flat and unprofitable"; even further to writing a play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-kaysen/it-s-a-long-way-from-not-having-enough-serotonin-to-thinking-the/)

[Susanna Kaysen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-kaysen/)

> [I've had a lot of fun, and when I talk to kids in journalism schools, I say, look, I know what the journalism teachers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-schieffer/i-ve-had-a-lot-of-fun-and-when-i-talk-to-kids-in-journalism-schools-i/)

[Bob Schieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-schieffer/)

> [It's much more fun to talk to an audience that includes a lot of people who disagree with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/it-s-much-more-fun-to-talk-to-an-audience-that-includes-a-lot-of/)

[Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/)

> [I actually didn't like that feeling of being out of touch because what I do depends on being in touch. But it's fun to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-james/i-actually-didn-t-like-that-feeling-of-being-out-of-touch-because/)

[Clive James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-james/)

> [It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-the-pooh/it-is-more-fun-to-talk-with-someone-who-doesn-t-use-long-difficult/)

[Winnie The Pooh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-the-pooh/)

> [I mean, it's fun for us to talk about issues. You know, there's no one issue we spend a lot of time on probably,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bush/i-mean-it-s-fun-for-us-to-talk-about-issues-you-know-there-s-no-one/)

[Laura Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bush/)

> [There's nothing in all the world as much fun as talk. When you're talking, that is, with the right person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-ayer-barnes/there-s-nothing-in-all-the-world-as-much-fun-as-talk-when-you-re/)

[Margaret Ayer Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-ayer-barnes/)

> [I love this thing about L.A. that we always make fun of but always do, which is talk about traffic and which direction we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wright/i-love-this-thing-about-l-a-that-we-always-make-fun-of-but-always-do/)

[Sarah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wright/)

> [I'm not really good at asking people questions in interviews. I just try to have fun, to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serge-ibaka/i-m-not-really-good-at-asking-people-questions-in-interviews-i-just/)

[Serge Ibaka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serge-ibaka/)

> [Fun is only until we talk/discuss about others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanji-paul-arvind/fun-is-only-until-we-talk-discuss-about-others/)

[Sanji-Paul Arvind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanji-paul-arvind/)

> [Twitter is really fun - you can talk about one person and it makes 50 others think it's about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/twitter-is-really-fun-you-can-talk-about-one-person-and-it-makes-50/)

[Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/)

> [I understand the rankings, they're fun to talk about, it's something to argue with your mates about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-hooker/i-understand-the-rankings-they-re-fun-to-talk-about-it-s-something-to/)

[Dan Hooker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-hooker/)

> [Everyone wants to talk about it, and right now music, flat-panel televisions, a whole host of new handheld devices are fun to talk about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-wants-to-talk-about-it-and-right-now-music-flat-panel/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Howard Zinn

> [“A black man, Benjamin Banneker, who taught himself mathematics and astronomy, predicted accurately a solar eclipse, and was appointed to plan the new city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-black-man-benjamin-banneker-who-taught-himself-mathematics-and/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/there-is-no-flag-large-enough-to-cover-the-shame-of-killing-innocent/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“a good education is a synthesis of book learning and involvement in social action, because each enrich the other. The accumulation of knowledge, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/a-good-education-is-a-synthesis-of-book-learning-and-involvement-in/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [The mountain of history books under which we all stand leans so heavily in the other direction-so tremblingly respectful of states and statesmen and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/the-mountain-of-history-books-under-which-we-all-stand-leans-so/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Let's face a historical truth: we have never had a "free market", we have always had government intervention in the economy, and indeed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/let-s-face-a-historical-truth-we-have-never-had-a-free-market-we-have/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [I can UNDERSTAND pessimism, but I don't BELIEVE in it. It's not simply a matter of faith, but of historical EVIDENCE. Not overwhelming evidence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/i-can-understand-pessimism-but-i-don-t-believe-in-it-it-s-not-simply/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it. It is a corrective to the sluggishness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/protest-beyond-the-law-is-not-a-departure-from-democracy-it-is/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Now I have been studying very closely what happens every day in the courts in Boston, Massachusetts. You would be astounded--maybe you wouldn't, maybe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/now-i-have-been-studying-very-closely-what-happens-every-day-in-the/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [They were not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence, they were absent in the Constitution and they were invisible in the new political democracy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/they-were-not-mentioned-in-the-declaration-of-independence-they-were/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“Sexual purity was to be the special virtue of a woman. It was assumed that men, as a matter of biological nature, would sin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/sexual-purity-was-to-be-the-special-virtue-of-a-woman-it-was-assumed/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“Middle-class Americans might be invited to join a new elite by attacks against the corruption of the established rich. The New Yorker Cadwallader Colden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/middle-class-americans-might-be-invited-to-join-a-new-elite-by/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [If those in charge of our society - politicians, corporate executives, and owners of press and television - can dominate our ideas, they will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/if-those-in-charge-of-our-society-politicians-corporate-executives/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [We were not born critical of existing society. There was a moment in our lives (or a month, or a year) when certain facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-were-not-born-critical-of-existing-society-there-was-a-moment-in/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [Behind the deceptive words designed to entice people into supporting violence -- words like democracy, freedom, self-defense, national security -- there is the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/behind-the-deceptive-words-designed-to-entice-people-into-supporting/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

> [“George Washington had turned down the requests of blacks, seeking freedom, to fight in the Revolutionary army. So when the British military commander in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/george-washington-had-turned-down-the-requests-of-blacks-seeking/)

[Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

[Explore all 461 Howard Zinn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/)

## More War quotes

> [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

> [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/)

[Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/)

> [“People came to our house from far and wide. Party and military bigwigs, some guy known as the “combat commander,” the village headman, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/people-came-to-our-house-from-far-and-wide-party-and-military-bigwigs/)

[Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/)

> [Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a batter. Love is a war. Love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-does-not-begin-and-end-the-way-we-seem-to-think-it-does-love-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [“The world," said Pavone, "will swing to the left. The whole world except America. The world will swing, not because people read Karl Marx,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/the-world-said-pavone-will-swing-to-the-left-the-whole-world-except/)

[Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/)

> [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/)

> [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/)

[Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/)

> [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/)

[Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/)

> [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/)

[David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/)

> [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/)

[Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/)

> [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/)

[Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/)

> [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/)

[Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/)

> [“Peace requires a discipline more iron than war. - Easter, 1939 ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-turner/peace-requires-a-discipline-more-iron-than-war-easter-1939/)

[W.J. Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-turner/)

[Browse all 38,922 War quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“And the New York Journal of Commerce, half-playfully, half-seriously, wrote: \"Let us go to war. The world has become stale and insipid, the ships ought all to be captured, and the cities battered down, and the world burned up, so that we can start again. There would be fun in that, Some interest, — something to talk about.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Howard Zinn"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/and-the-new-york-journal-of-commerce-half-playfully-half-seriously/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "War"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/and-the-new-york-journal-of-commerce-half-playfully-half-seriously/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/howard-zinn-576_war_and-the-new-york-journal-of-commerce-hal_1131337.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/howard-zinn-576_war_and-the-new-york-journal-of-commerce-hal_1131337.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dda/howard-zinn-576_war_and-the-new-york-journal-of-commerce-hal_1131337.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“And the New York Journal of Commerce, half-playfully, half-seriously, wrote: \"Let us go to war. The world…” — Howard Zinn",
                "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": "Howard Zinn",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“And the New York Journal of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/and-the-new-york-journal-of-commerce-half-playfully-half-seriously/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/and-the-new-york-journal-of-commerce-half-playfully-half-seriously/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
