--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It oughtn't to need a war to make us talk…" description: "\"It oughtn't to need a war to make us talk to each other in buses, and invent our own amusements in the evenings, and live simply, and eat sparingly, an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/jan-struther-13125_amusement_it-oughtn-t-to-need-a-war-to-make-us-tal_1443664.png" --- # It oughtn't to need a war to make us talk to each other in… ![“It oughtn't to need a war to make us talk to each other in buses, and invent our own amusements in the evenings, and live simply, and eat sparingly, and recover the use of our legs, and get up early enough to see the sun rise. However, it has needed one: which is about the severest criticism our…” quote by Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/jan-struther-13125_amusement_it-oughtn-t-to-need-a-war-to-make-us-tal_1443664.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/jan-struther-13125_amusement_it-oughtn-t-to-need-a-war-to-make-us-tal_1443664.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/162/jan-struther-13125_amusement_it-oughtn-t-to-need-a-war-to-make-us-tal_1443664.png) > “It oughtn't to need a war to make us talk to each other in buses, and invent our own amusements in the evenings, and live simply, and eat sparingly, and recover the use of our legs, and get up early enough to see the sun rise. However, it has needed one: which is about the severest criticism our civilization could have.” [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A war is the harshest critique of civilization, urging simpler, more connected lives without conflict. **In simple terms:** War shows how disconnected we are, urging simplicity and connection. Key Takeaway Embrace simplicity and community before conflict arises. Themes simplicity community war civilization reflection Mood thoughtful reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban commuting - family evenings - daily routines - public transport - health habits Key Concepts social critique human nature peacebuilding Questions to Reflect On - What simple habits could replace conflict in your life? - How can community replace the need for war? A Different Perspective War may be seen as a catalyst for change, not just a critique. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amusement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amusement/) [Bus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bus/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Criticism Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism-civilization-5172766/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evening/) [Legs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life and living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-and-living/) [Live simply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-simply/) [Need War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/need-war-581578/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Rise Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rise-needed-5172767/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/) [Sun rise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun-rise/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“It oughtn't to need a war to make us talk to each other in buses, and invent our own amusements in the evenings, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/it-oughtn-t-to-need-a-war-to-make-us-talk-to-each-other-in-buses-and-2/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [“The fact that we are now crusaders needn't blind us to the fact that for a very long time we have been, as Badger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/the-fact-that-we-are-now-crusaders-needn-t-blind-us-to-the-fact-that/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [It may be that at some time in the dim future of the race the need for war will vanish: but that time is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-may-be-that-at-some-time-in-the-dim-future-of-the-race-the-need/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [There are plenty of reasons for hope. There need be no war with Russia, and those who would fight her now, on the theory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-w-dodds/there-are-plenty-of-reasons-for-hope-there-need-be-no-war-with-russia/) [Harold W. Dodds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-w-dodds/) > [“There isn’t a good side and a bad side of you or of anybody, so there’s no need to be at war with yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-woodman/there-isn-t-a-good-side-and-a-bad-side-of-you-or-of-anybody-so-there/) [Jay Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-woodman/) > [At least we're getting the kind of experience we need for the next war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-dulles/at-least-we-re-getting-the-kind-of-experience-we-need-for-the-next-war/) [Allen Dulles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-dulles/) > [The foes from whom we pray to be delivered are our own passions, appetites, and follies; and against these there is always need that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-foes-from-whom-we-pray-to-be-delivered-are-our-own-passions/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [“We wouldn't have much need of a war if people stopped using drugs. It's like taking up a fight against the use of headache…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-prentiss/we-wouldn-t-have-much-need-of-a-war-if-people-stopped-using-drugs-it/) [Chris Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-prentiss/) > [I hear people saying we don't need this war, I say there's some things worth fighting for. What about our freedom and this piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darryl-worley/i-hear-people-saying-we-don-t-need-this-war-i-say-there-s-some-things/) [Darryl Worley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darryl-worley/) > [What kind of people are these with such low self-esteem that they need a war to feel better about themselves?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/what-kind-of-people-are-these-with-such-low-self-esteem-that-they/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [We should lay up in peace what we shall need in war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/we-should-lay-up-in-peace-what-we-shall-need-in-war/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [I think the majority of the British people are still sanguine about the need for war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-major/i-think-the-majority-of-the-british-people-are-still-sanguine-about/) [John Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-major/) > [We need to be on a war footing. We need to understand that our nation is in grave danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/we-need-to-be-on-a-war-footing-we-need-to-understand-that-our-nation/) [Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/) > [We need a war every 10 years, so we can stay match fit in case the Germans try again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-murray/we-need-a-war-every-10-years-so-we-can-stay-match-fit-in-case-the/) [Al Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-murray/) > [Yet if women are so flighty, fickle, changeable, susceptible, and inconstant (as some clerks would have us believe), why is it that their suitors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-de-pizan/yet-if-women-are-so-flighty-fickle-changeable-susceptible-and/) [Christine de Pizan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-de-pizan/) ## More by Jan Struther > [Things happen too quickly, crisis follows crisis, the soil of our minds is perpetually disturbed. Each of us, to relieve his feelings, broadcasts his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/things-happen-too-quickly-crisis-follows-crisis-the-soil-of-our-minds/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [“It was more like a form of claustrophobia -- a dread of exchanging the freedom of her own self-imposed routine for the inescapable burden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/it-was-more-like-a-form-of-claustrophobia-a-dread-of-exchanging-the/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [“Mrs. Miniver suddenly understood why she was enjoying the forties so much better than she had enjoyed the thirties: it was the difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/mrs-miniver-suddenly-understood-why-she-was-enjoying-the-forties-so/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [To be put down in this world, and given only eighty years to get to know it in, is like being let loose in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/to-be-put-down-in-this-world-and-given-only-eighty-years-to-get-to/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [ “...\[Y\]ou cannot successfully navigate the future unless you keep always framed beside it a small clear image of the past.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/y-ou-cannot-successfully-navigate-the-future-unless-you-keep-always/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [One is what one remembers: no more, no less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/one-is-what-one-remembers-no-more-no-less/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [In childhood the daylight always fails too soon -- except when there are going to be fireworks;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/in-childhood-the-daylight-always-fails-too-soon-except-when-there-are/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [I can't abide cats myself, but of course we have to have one in the kitchen to deal with the mice. I insisted on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/i-can-t-abide-cats-myself-but-of-course-we-have-to-have-one-in-the/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [swans ... always look as though they'd just been reading their own fan-mail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/swans-always-look-as-though-they-d-just-been-reading-their-own-fan/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [It seemed to her sometimes that the most important thing about marriage was not a home or children or a remedy against sin, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/it-seemed-to-her-sometimes-that-the-most-important-thing-about/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [Physical weather certainly is beyond our control. ... But human weather - the psychological climate of the world - is not beyond our control.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/physical-weather-certainly-is-beyond-our-control-but-human-weather/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [Scots are born exiles, and Scotland the perfect country to be exiled from. Do not imagine that I am running down Scotland. Far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/scots-are-born-exiles-and-scotland-the-perfect-country-to-be-exiled/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [It took me forty years on earth To reach this sure conclusion: There is no Heaven but clarity, No Hell except confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/it-took-me-forty-years-on-earth-to-reach-this-sure-conclusion-there/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [It's just as important to marry the right life as the right person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/it-s-just-as-important-to-marry-the-right-life-as-the-right-person/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) > [Giving a party is like having a baby: its conception is more fun than its completion; and once you have begun it, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-struther/giving-a-party-is-like-having-a-baby-its-conception-is-more-fun-than/) [Jan Struther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) [Explore all 51 Jan Struther quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-struther/) ## More Amusement quotes > [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Every producer in Hollywood had set me down as a type. I was both amused and disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-lugosi/every-producer-in-hollywood-had-set-me-down-as-a-type-i-was-both/) [Bela Lugosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-lugosi/) > [By amusing myself with all these games, all this nonsense, all these picture puzzles, I became famous... I am only a public entertainer who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/by-amusing-myself-with-all-these-games-all-this-nonsense-all-these/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [I just started writing for my own amusement and occasionally singing in little clubs around Los Angeles. Then I wrote 'The Rose,' and through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-mcbroom/i-just-started-writing-for-my-own-amusement-and-occasionally-singing/) [Amanda McBroom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-mcbroom/) > [Happiness does not consist in pastimes and amusements but in virtuous activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/happiness-does-not-consist-in-pastimes-and-amusements-but-in-virtuous/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-mass-of-men-lead-lives-of-quiet-desperation-what-is-called/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Ordinary people simply don't know what books mean to us, shut up here. Reading, learning, and the radio are our amusements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/ordinary-people-simply-don-t-know-what-books-mean-to-us-shut-up-here/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [My first job was at an amusement park in Virginia. It was the worst. I loved the park but once I'd worked there all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-mcbride/my-first-job-was-at-an-amusement-park-in-virginia-it-was-the-worst-i/) [Danny McBride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-mcbride/) > [The Stoics say, "Retire within yourselves; it is there you will find your rest." And that is not true. Others say, "Go out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/the-stoics-say-retire-within-yourselves-it-is-there-you-will-find/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [I realized, "Gee, you're making the same film over and over here." I just kept making them for my own amusement, but also with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/i-realized-gee-you-re-making-the-same-film-over-and-over-here-i-just/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [I like these boots," I told Vayl. "Do you think they'd sell them to me cheap? I keep ruining mine." "Since when do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-rardin/i-like-these-boots-i-told-vayl-do-you-think-they-d-sell-them-to-me/) [Jennifer Rardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-rardin/) > [It has to be now,” he insisted, a flick of amusement in his voice. He nudged his burgeoning loins against her. “After all, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/it-has-to-be-now-he-insisted-a-flick-of-amusement-in-his-voice-he/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [Act as if the universe is a prodigious miracle created for your amusement and illumination. Assume that secret helpers are working behind the scenes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/act-as-if-the-universe-is-a-prodigious-miracle-created-for-your/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [Amusement that is excessive and followed only for its own sake, allures and deceives us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/amusement-that-is-excessive-and-followed-only-for-its-own-sake/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) [Browse all 567 Amusement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amusement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It oughtn't to need a war to make us talk to each other in buses, and invent our own amusements in the evenings, and live simply, and eat sparingly, and recover the use of our legs, and get up early enough to see the sun rise. 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