--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We must recognize the chief…" description: "\"We must recognize the chief characteristic of the modern era - a permanent state of what I call violent peace.\" — James D. Watkins" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/james-d-watkins-102300_era_we-must-recognize-the-chief-characterist_2615662.jpg" --- # We must recognize the chief characteristic of the modern… ![“We must recognize the chief characteristic of the modern era - a permanent state of what I call violent peace.” quote by James D. Watkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/james-d-watkins-102300_era_we-must-recognize-the-chief-characterist_2615662.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/james-d-watkins-102300_era_we-must-recognize-the-chief-characterist_2615662.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37e/james-d-watkins-102300_era_we-must-recognize-the-chief-characterist_2615662.jpg) > “We must recognize the chief characteristic of the modern era - a permanent state of what I call violent peace.” James D. Watkins ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern times blend apparent peace with underlying violence. **In simple terms:** Peace can mask conflict. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden tensions. Themes peace violence modernity Mood contemplative serious Type era:1 modern:1 modern era:1 peace:1 permanent:1 state:1 violent peace:1 permanent state:1 characteristic modern:0 state violent:0 When to use this quote - international relations - urban life Key Concepts sociopolitics conflict theory Questions to Reflect On - How does “violent peace” manifest? - Can peace be truly sustainable? A Different Perspective Peace alone doesn't ensure safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Era](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/era/) [Modern era](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-era/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) ## Related quotes > [This is an era of violent peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-watkins/this-is-an-era-of-violent-peace/) James D. Watkins > [Curiosity, which may or may not eventuate in something useful, is probably the most outstanding characteristic of modern thinking ... Institutions of learning should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-flexner/curiosity-which-may-or-may-not-eventuate-in-something-useful-is/) [Abraham Flexner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-flexner/) > [We are by nature observers, and thereby learners. That is our permanent state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/we-are-by-nature-observers-and-thereby-learners-that-is-our-permanent/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“If a defining characteristic of the modern world is disorder, then the most fundamental act of resistance is to establish order.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/if-a-defining-characteristic-of-the-modern-world-is-disorder-then-the/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [One characteristic of modern poetry is that arrangement of parts which strikes many people as being violent or obscure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-rukeyser/one-characteristic-of-modern-poetry-is-that-arrangement-of-parts/) [Muriel Rukeyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-rukeyser/) > [“Modern war is distinguished by the fact that all the participants are ostensibly unwilling. We are swept towards one another like colonies of heavily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/modern-war-is-distinguished-by-the-fact-that-all-the-participants-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We live in a permanent state of bad faith, a mutual representation of ourselves to one another for the sake of remaining sane and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/we-live-in-a-permanent-state-of-bad-faith-a-mutual-representation-of/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [A permanent state of transition is man's most noble condition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-ramon-jimenez/a-permanent-state-of-transition-is-man-s-most-noble-condition/) [Juan Ramon Jimenez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-ramon-jimenez/) > [I had a role in developing the doctrine From the Sea, which was later modified to Forward From the Sea. But the way we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-smith/i-had-a-role-in-developing-the-doctrine-from-the-sea-which-was-later/) [Sam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-smith/) > [Thanks to our modern era, facts are incredibly easy to come by. A few web searches for your subject matter, and you have all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-weir/thanks-to-our-modern-era-facts-are-incredibly-easy-to-come-by-a-few/) [Andy Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-weir/) > [Music is all starting to sound alike in the modern era. Afro-pop sounds exactly like L.A. pop - there's no difference, no ambience, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ry-cooder/music-is-all-starting-to-sound-alike-in-the-modern-era-afro-pop/) [Ry Cooder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ry-cooder/) > [Science fiction writers missed the most salient feature of our modern era: the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-mcdevitt/science-fiction-writers-missed-the-most-salient-feature-of-our-modern/) [Jack McDevitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-mcdevitt/) > [Breaking Benjamin, talk about songwriting, I mean, some of the greatest songwriters of the modern era. And, obviously, it's a little heavier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/synyster-gates/breaking-benjamin-talk-about-songwriting-i-mean-some-of-the-greatest/) [Synyster Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/synyster-gates/) > [There's room for many definitions of masculinity in the modern era.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemp-muhl/there-s-room-for-many-definitions-of-masculinity-in-the-modern-era/) [Kemp Muhl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemp-muhl/) > [If you think about the traditional mafia stories we grew up on, it is always about the death of criminal organisations - things like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-watkins/if-you-think-about-the-traditional-mafia-stories-we-grew-up-on-it-is/) [James Watkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-watkins/) ## More by James D. Watkins > [This is an era of violent peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-watkins/this-is-an-era-of-violent-peace/) James D. Watkins Explore all 2 James D. Watkins quotes ## More Era quotes > [I don't think Joe Louis could take the punches today fighting in this era.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-holmes/i-don-t-think-joe-louis-could-take-the-punches-today-fighting-in-this/) [Larry Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-holmes/) > [In the Tea Party era, it is the restless conservative Republican who has become passion's plaything, the toy of impetuous romance, an erotomania only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolcott/in-the-tea-party-era-it-is-the-restless-conservative-republican-who/) [James Wolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolcott/) > [He brought a sensibility and a hard-edged reasonableness to operating restaurants that had a lasting impact on me and still affects how I run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bastianich/he-brought-a-sensibility-and-a-hard-edged-reasonableness-to-operating/) [Joe Bastianich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bastianich/) > [My life had been defined by the apartheid years. Now we were going into an era of democracy... and I believed that I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athol-fugard/my-life-had-been-defined-by-the-apartheid-years-now-we-were-going/) [Athol Fugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athol-fugard/) > [In his musicals with Garland, Rooney was the sparkplug for prodigious entrepreneurship - that era's predecessor of the garage band, but with Gershwin tunes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/in-his-musicals-with-garland-rooney-was-the-sparkplug-for-prodigious/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [If you want to oppose Trump, the first thing you should do is say, 'I'm not going to do one thing that makes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-schmidt/if-you-want-to-oppose-trump-the-first-thing-you-should-do-is-say-i-m/) [Steve Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-schmidt/) > [I must have been 10 or 11, but anything Dana Carvey ever did, I just really loved. 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How do we define it? We define it by music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donatella-versace/to-define-the-era-we-live-in-is-very-difficult-how-do-we-define-it-we/) [Donatella Versace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donatella-versace/) > [I don't have any particular desire to see words making a comeback. They are of their era, after all, and that is their identity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/i-don-t-have-any-particular-desire-to-see-words-making-a-comeback/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) [Browse all 617 Era quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/era/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We must recognize the chief characteristic of the modern era - a permanent state of what I call violent peace.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James D. 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