--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have never understood why the…" description: "\"I have never understood why the politicians who are most eager to send soldiers into harm's way are always depicted as their most ardent friends.\" — Jo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/joe-conason-37113_ardent_i-have-never-understood-why-the-politici_2160138.png" --- # I have never understood why the politicians who are most… ![“I have never understood why the politicians who are most eager to send soldiers into harm's way are always depicted as their most ardent friends.” quote by Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/joe-conason-37113_ardent_i-have-never-understood-why-the-politici_2160138.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/joe-conason-37113_ardent_i-have-never-understood-why-the-politici_2160138.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/joe-conason-37113_ardent_i-have-never-understood-why-the-politici_2160138.png) > “I have never understood why the politicians who are most eager to send soldiers into harm's way are always depicted as their most ardent friends.” [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Politicians who push war are often portrayed as supportive friends, highlighting a paradox in public perception. **In simple terms:** War advocates appear as friends, creating a paradox. Key Takeaway Question the narratives that glorify war. Themes politics war media perception hypocrisy Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - campaign speeches - news commentary - public debates - policy discussions Key Concepts propaganda public opinion leadership Questions to Reflect On - How does media framing affect our view of war leaders? - What responsibilities do citizens have to see beyond rhetoric? A Different Perspective The portrayal may oversimplify complex motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ardent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ardent/) [Harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/harm/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politicians/) [Politicians Eager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politicians-eager-4580108/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Send Soldiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/send-soldiers-4580110/) [Soldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldier/) [Soldiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldiers/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Understood Politicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood-politicians-4580109/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [A leader must be ready to send the soldiers under his command to their deaths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-leader-must-be-ready-to-send-the-soldiers-under-his-command-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One should never send soldiers on a mission based on just good will and good intent. Unfortunately, that can mean one has to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-maiziere/one-should-never-send-soldiers-on-a-mission-based-on-just-good-will/) [Thomas de Maiziere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-maiziere/) > [We will reach anywhere and attack anyone who tries to harm Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoav-gallant/we-will-reach-anywhere-and-attack-anyone-who-tries-to-harm-israeli/) [Yoav Gallant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoav-gallant/) > [The Battle for the Philippines was the greatest naval battle in history, judged in terms of the number of ships taking part, the number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hough/the-battle-for-the-philippines-was-the-greatest-naval-battle-in/) [Richard Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hough/) > [Love is not a mere emotion or sentiment. It is the lucid and ardent responses of the whole person to a value that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-is-not-a-mere-emotion-or-sentiment-it-is-the-lucid-and-ardent/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The idea of restraining the legislative authority, in the means of providing for the national defense, is one of those refinements which owe their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-idea-of-restraining-the-legislative-authority-in-the-means-of/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [If a man has a very decided character, has a strongly accentuated career, it is normally the case of course that he makes ardent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/if-a-man-has-a-very-decided-character-has-a-strongly-accentuated/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [A sick man, surrounded by those who love him, nursed by those who wish earnestly that he should live, will recover (all other things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/a-sick-man-surrounded-by-those-who-love-him-nursed-by-those-who-wish/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [I rejoice that liberty . . . now finds an asylum in the bosom of a regularly organized government; a government, which, being formed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/i-rejoice-that-liberty-now-finds-an-asylum-in-the-bosom-of-a/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [The person who inspired me the most was a friend of mine, Anita Roddick. I know that Anita wasn't known to be an ardent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/the-person-who-inspired-me-the-most-was-a-friend-of-mine-anita/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans, but I have some friends who are NASCAR team owners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/not-as-closely-as-some-of-the-most-ardent-fans-but-i-have-some/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [I am an ardent supporter of Israel in all situations and in all circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mulcair/i-am-an-ardent-supporter-of-israel-in-all-situations-and-in-all/) [Thomas Mulcair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mulcair/) > [Ardent desire for knowledge, in fact, is the one motive attracting and supporting investigators in their efforts; and just this knowledge, really grasped and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/ardent-desire-for-knowledge-in-fact-is-the-one-motive-attracting-and/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [I am a Zionist, an ardent supporter of Israel, its defender when I deem Israel to be right and its critic when I deem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-bikel/i-am-a-zionist-an-ardent-supporter-of-israel-its-defender-when-i-deem/) [Theodore Bikel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-bikel/) > [There are courageous and honest men enough in both sections to fight. There is no question of courage involved. The people of both sections…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-toombs/there-are-courageous-and-honest-men-enough-in-both-sections-to-fight/) [Robert Toombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-toombs/) ## More by Joe Conason > [Conservatives truly love America and support the armed forces, while liberals are unpatriotic draft dodgers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/conservatives-truly-love-america-and-support-the-armed-forces-while/) [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) > [Of all the potential perils to the new American republic, the prospect of concentrated power . . . troubled the intellectual leaders of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/of-all-the-potential-perils-to-the-new-american-republic-the-prospect/) [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) > [I believe, if Hillary Clinton is the nominee, Bernie Sanders will be her most powerful and strongest supporter. No question. And he is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/i-believe-if-hillary-clinton-is-the-nominee-bernie-sanders-will-be/) [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) > [If you look at polls, Hillary Clinton is considered the toughest in a field of men. That's no small victory for her going towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/if-you-look-at-polls-hillary-clinton-is-considered-the-toughest-in-a/) [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) > [The available divorce data show that marital breakdown is now considerably more common in the Bible Belt than in the secular Northeast. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/the-available-divorce-data-show-that-marital-breakdown-is-now/) [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) > [The problem isn't that conservatives are wrong about the efficiency of markets or the creativity of enterprise. It's that they have made false idols…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/the-problem-isn-t-that-conservatives-are-wrong-about-the-efficiency/) [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) > [Not surprisingly, some of the super-rich declined to join the Patriotic Millionaires when the Agenda Project reached out to them. At least two airily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/not-surprisingly-some-of-the-super-rich-declined-to-join-the/) [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) > [Dozens of America's wealthiest taxpayers - including hedge fund legend Michael Steinhardt, super trial lawyer Guy Saperstein, and Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/dozens-of-america-s-wealthiest-taxpayers-including-hedge-fund-legend/) [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) > [ The contrast, between the two parties is now so strong that I think senator \[Bernie \]Sanders has summed it up himself several times. He… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/the-contrast-between-the-two-parties-is-now-so-strong-that-i-think/) [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) > [The irony is that what was supposed to be a great vulnerability of Hillary Clinton , which the Iraq war vote which she has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/the-irony-is-that-what-was-supposed-to-be-a-great-vulnerability-of/) [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) > [The Patriotic Millionaires campaign, pulled together quickly by the Agenda Project in New York City, just happens to appear on the same day as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/the-patriotic-millionaires-campaign-pulled-together-quickly-by-the/) [Joe Conason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) [Explore all 12 Joe Conason quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/) ## More Ardent quotes > [There are courageous and honest men enough in both sections to fight. There is no question of courage involved. The people of both sections…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-toombs/there-are-courageous-and-honest-men-enough-in-both-sections-to-fight/) [Robert Toombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-toombs/) > [I am a Zionist, an ardent supporter of Israel, its defender when I deem Israel to be right and its critic when I deem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-bikel/i-am-a-zionist-an-ardent-supporter-of-israel-its-defender-when-i-deem/) [Theodore Bikel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-bikel/) > [Ardent desire for knowledge, in fact, is the one motive attracting and supporting investigators in their efforts; and just this knowledge, really grasped and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-bernard/ardent-desire-for-knowledge-in-fact-is-the-one-motive-attracting-and/) [Claude Bernard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-bernard/) > [I am an ardent supporter of Israel in all situations and in all circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mulcair/i-am-an-ardent-supporter-of-israel-in-all-situations-and-in-all/) [Thomas Mulcair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mulcair/) > [Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans, but I have some friends who are NASCAR team owners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/not-as-closely-as-some-of-the-most-ardent-fans-but-i-have-some/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [The person who inspired me the most was a friend of mine, Anita Roddick. I know that Anita wasn't known to be an ardent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/the-person-who-inspired-me-the-most-was-a-friend-of-mine-anita/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [I rejoice that liberty . . . now finds an asylum in the bosom of a regularly organized government; a government, which, being formed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/i-rejoice-that-liberty-now-finds-an-asylum-in-the-bosom-of-a/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [A sick man, surrounded by those who love him, nursed by those who wish earnestly that he should live, will recover (all other things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/a-sick-man-surrounded-by-those-who-love-him-nursed-by-those-who-wish/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [If a man has a very decided character, has a strongly accentuated career, it is normally the case of course that he makes ardent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/if-a-man-has-a-very-decided-character-has-a-strongly-accentuated/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The idea of restraining the legislative authority, in the means of providing for the national defense, is one of those refinements which owe their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/the-idea-of-restraining-the-legislative-authority-in-the-means-of/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Love is not a mere emotion or sentiment. It is the lucid and ardent responses of the whole person to a value that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/love-is-not-a-mere-emotion-or-sentiment-it-is-the-lucid-and-ardent/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [The Battle for the Philippines was the greatest naval battle in history, judged in terms of the number of ships taking part, the number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hough/the-battle-for-the-philippines-was-the-greatest-naval-battle-in/) [Richard Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hough/) > [From the day I started to think politically and to develop my own moral values, from my earliest youth, I have been an ardent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/from-the-day-i-started-to-think-politically-and-to-develop-my-own/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [The saddest thing in the world was that human beings, for all their ardent striving and desire, could never achieve physical, emotional, or intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/the-saddest-thing-in-the-world-was-that-human-beings-for-all-their/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [“He was young and ardent in a hundred happy ways.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-du-maurier/he-was-young-and-ardent-in-a-hundred-happy-ways/) [Daphne du Maurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-du-maurier/) [Browse all 183 Ardent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ardent/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have never understood why the politicians who are most eager to send soldiers into harm's way are always depicted as their most ardent friends.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joe Conason" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/i-have-never-understood-why-the-politicians-who-are-most-eager-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ardent" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/i-have-never-understood-why-the-politicians-who-are-most-eager-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/joe-conason-37113_ardent_i-have-never-understood-why-the-politici_2160138.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/joe-conason-37113_ardent_i-have-never-understood-why-the-politici_2160138.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/joe-conason-37113_ardent_i-have-never-understood-why-the-politici_2160138.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have never understood why the politicians who are most eager to send soldiers into harm's way are always…” — Joe Conason", "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": "Joe Conason", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-conason/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have never understood why the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/i-have-never-understood-why-the-politicians-who-are-most-eager-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-conason/i-have-never-understood-why-the-politicians-who-are-most-eager-to/#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 } } ] } ```