--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Looking back upon millennia of history…" description: "\"“Looking back upon millennia of history, it appears clear that no race or culture has monopoly on wartime cruelty. The veneer of civilization seems to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/iris-chang-17261_civilization_looking-back-upon-millennia-of-history-i_472921.png" --- # Looking back upon millennia of history, it appears clear… ![“Looking back upon millennia of history, it appears clear that no race or culture has monopoly on wartime cruelty. The veneer of civilization seems to be exceedingly thin – one that can be easily stripped away, especially by the stresses of war.” quote by Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/iris-chang-17261_civilization_looking-back-upon-millennia-of-history-i_472921.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/iris-chang-17261_civilization_looking-back-upon-millennia-of-history-i_472921.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e73/iris-chang-17261_civilization_looking-back-upon-millennia-of-history-i_472921.png) > ““Looking back upon millennia of history, it appears clear that no race or culture has monopoly on wartime cruelty. The veneer of civilization seems to be exceedingly thin – one that can be easily stripped away, especially by the stresses of war.”” [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War erodes moral barriers, exposing the thin veneer of civilization that can be stripped away under stress. **In simple terms:** War reveals humanity’s capacity for cruelty. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist dehumanizing forces in conflict. Themes war human nature civilization Mood somber reflective Type historical philosophical When to use this quote - military leadership - journalism - education - peacebuilding Key Concepts moral erosion psychology of conflict Questions to Reflect On - How does war test personal morality? - What safeguards can preserve humanity? A Different Perspective Even in war, individuals can uphold ethical standards. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cruelty/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Race Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-culture-762871/) [Stresses War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stresses-war-4083652/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wartime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wartime/) [Wartime Cruelty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wartime-cruelty-4083651/) ## Related quotes > [...Have the stresses of war been as bad to you personally as carrying through the policy of Collective Farms?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/have-the-stresses-of-war-been-as-bad-to-you-personally-as-carrying/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's a big difference between race and culture. Because racially, I'm an Indian man. Culturally, not at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-peters/there-s-a-big-difference-between-race-and-culture-because-racially-i/) [Russell Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-peters/) > [“Once we distinguish race and culture, the way is open to acknowledge that not all cultures are equally admirable, and that not all cultures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/once-we-distinguish-race-and-culture-the-way-is-open-to-acknowledge/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [I grew up in a household where we talked about race all the time, and that's sort of in me. So if I become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-kamau-bell/i-grew-up-in-a-household-where-we-talked-about-race-all-the-time-and/) [W. Kamau Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-kamau-bell/) > [I talk about race and culture, and that's what my fans respond to. If you grew up in an environment where race and culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-peters/i-talk-about-race-and-culture-and-that-s-what-my-fans-respond-to-if/) [Russell Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-peters/) > [Picking on another person in their mind justifies and makes their stature higher. People do it interracially. It's amazing how every race, every culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rib-hillis/picking-on-another-person-in-their-mind-justifies-and-makes-their/) [Rib Hillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rib-hillis/) > [Culture is not race and race is not culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaune-quick-to-see-smith/culture-is-not-race-and-race-is-not-culture/) [Jaune Quick–to–See Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaune-quick-to-see-smith/) > [... the real heroes of race and culture would always be the people who stepped out of their own line to make a larger circle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-shihab-nye/the-real-heroes-of-race-and-culture-would-always-be-the-people-who/) [Naomi Shihab Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-shihab-nye/) > [“If you see people of a particular race or culture as objects, your view of them is racist, whatever your color or lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arbinger-institute/if-you-see-people-of-a-particular-race-or-culture-as-objects-your/) [Arbinger Institute](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arbinger-institute/) > [To keep up the purity of the Race and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of the Semitic races--the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-s-golwalkar/to-keep-up-the-purity-of-the-race-and-its-culture-germany-shocked-the/) [M. S. Golwalkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-s-golwalkar/) > [A man is a man in every part of the world. It has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-machado/a-man-is-a-man-in-every-part-of-the-world-it-has-nothing-to-do-with/) [Alicia Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-machado/) > [Stereotyping of any race or culture is narrow-minded, and I can't wait to help break the shackles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nargis-fakhri/stereotyping-of-any-race-or-culture-is-narrow-minded-and-i-can-t-wait/) [Nargis Fakhri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nargis-fakhri/) > [I dont see things with gender, race and culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rad-hourani/i-dont-see-things-with-gender-race-and-culture/) [Rad Hourani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rad-hourani/) > [Whether on guns, race, culture or feminism, there really are two Americas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/whether-on-guns-race-culture-or-feminism-there-really-are-two-americas/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) > [It is true that Christianity is not bound up with any particular race or culture. It is neither of the East or of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/it-is-true-that-christianity-is-not-bound-up-with-any-particular-race/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) ## More by Iris Chang > [Whatever is not commonly seen is condemned as alien.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/whatever-is-not-commonly-seen-is-condemned-as-alien/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [The spoken word vanished with the wind. Likewise, the unrecorded life disappears as if it never existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/the-spoken-word-vanished-with-the-wind-likewise-the-unrecorded-life/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [There isn't much in the way of pure communist spirit, because the whole nation seems to be engaged in capitalistic enterprises. Much of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/there-isn-t-much-in-the-way-of-pure-communist-spirit-because-the/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [For some reason, I seem to be bothered whenever I see acts of injustice and assaults on people's civil liberties. I imagine what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/for-some-reason-i-seem-to-be-bothered-whenever-i-see-acts-of/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [I have to finish this book tour of almost 30 cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/i-have-to-finish-this-book-tour-of-almost-30-cities/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [Almost all people have this potential for evil, which would be unleashed only under certain dangerous social circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/almost-all-people-have-this-potential-for-evil-which-would-be/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [There isn't much discussion of ruling class in America even in Boston, probably one of the most class-conscious cities in the country?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/there-isn-t-much-discussion-of-ruling-class-in-america-even-in-boston/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [Your first duty as a writer is to write to please yourself. And you have no duty towards anyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/your-first-duty-as-a-writer-is-to-write-to-please-yourself-and-you/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [They probably do have an Asian Barbie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/they-probably-do-have-an-asian-barbie/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [Its a wonderful thing to see a segment of our population that is open and eager to learn more about Chinese culture. It has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/its-a-wonderful-thing-to-see-a-segment-of-our-population-that-is-open/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [I don't mind solitude. I love talking to other people, but I do need my space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/i-don-t-mind-solitude-i-love-talking-to-other-people-but-i-do-need-my/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [Somebody who was born in this country who visited China would later face difficulty getting back in to the USA. We have to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/somebody-who-was-born-in-this-country-who-visited-china-would-later/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [Now, most of the new immigrants coming to this country are from Asia as opposed to Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/now-most-of-the-new-immigrants-coming-to-this-country-are-from-asia/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [Please believe in THE POWER OF ONE. One person can make an enormous difference in the world. One person - actually, one idea -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/please-believe-in-the-power-of-one-one-person-can-make-an-enormous/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) > [I received an honorary doctorate for my work. Maybe one of these works is considered the equivalent of a Ph.D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-chang/i-received-an-honorary-doctorate-for-my-work-maybe-one-of-these-works/) [Iris Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) [Explore all 37 Iris Chang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-chang/) ## More Civilization quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [“The voice in the head that never stops speaking becomes a civilization that is obsessed with form and therefore knows nothing of the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-voice-in-the-head-that-never-stops-speaking-becomes-a/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [We released 400,000 classified documents, the most extraordinary history of a war to ever have been released in our civilization. Those documents cover 109,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/we-released-400-000-classified-documents-the-most-extraordinary/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [The invention of gunpowder and the constant improvement of firearms are enough in themselves to show that the advance of civilization has done nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-von-clausewitz/the-invention-of-gunpowder-and-the-constant-improvement-of-firearms/) [Carl von Clausewitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-von-clausewitz/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The mission is, not to replace old world mindlessness with new world mindlessness, but to put an end to all forms of brainless authoritarianism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-mission-is-not-to-replace-old-world-mindlessness-with-new-world/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Coal lay in ledges under the ground since the Flood, until a laborer with pick and windlass brings it to the surface. We may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/coal-lay-in-ledges-under-the-ground-since-the-flood-until-a-laborer/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-josiah-brewer/our-laws-and-our-institutions-must-necessarily-be-based-upon-and/) [David Josiah Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-josiah-brewer/) [Browse all 4,084 Civilization quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Looking back upon millennia of history, it appears clear that no race or culture has monopoly on wartime cruelty. 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