--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We were trying, as I irrelevantly…" description: "\"“We were trying, as I irrelevantly analyzed it, to avoid what might be termed a historic mistake. We were trying to understand, that is, whether we wer..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/joseph-o-neill-10798_cold-war_we-were-trying-as-i-irrelevantly-analyze_1216077.png" --- # We were trying, as I irrelevantly analyzed it, to avoid… ![“We were trying, as I irrelevantly analyzed it, to avoid what might be termed a historic mistake. We were trying to understand, that is, whether we were in a preapocalyptic situation, like the European Jews in the thirties or the last citizens of Pompeii, or whether our situation was merely…” quote by Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/joseph-o-neill-10798_cold-war_we-were-trying-as-i-irrelevantly-analyze_1216077.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/joseph-o-neill-10798_cold-war_we-were-trying-as-i-irrelevantly-analyze_1216077.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/56b/joseph-o-neill-10798_cold-war_we-were-trying-as-i-irrelevantly-analyze_1216077.png) > ““We were trying, as I irrelevantly analyzed it, to avoid what might be termed a historic mistake. We were trying to understand, that is, whether we were in a preapocalyptic situation, like the European Jews in the thirties or the last citizens of Pompeii, or whether our situation was merely near-apocalyptic, like that of the Cold War inhabitants of New York, London, Washington”” [Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker compares their current crisis to past catastrophes, questioning whether it is a full-blown apocalypse or a lesser, still dangerous situation. **In simple terms:** They wonder if their times is as dire as past disasters. Key Takeaway Assess the true scale of danger before reacting. Themes history crisis perspective Mood anxious thoughtful Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political decision‑making - personal anxiety - media analysis Key Concepts apocalypse historical analogy risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - How do we distinguish between genuine and perceived threats? - What evidence would change our assessment? A Different Perspective Comparisons may oversimplify unique modern complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-war/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Historic Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historic-mistake-3706331/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Irrelevantly Analyzed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irrelevantly-analyzed-3706332/) [Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) [Mistake Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake-trying-567261/) [Preapocalyptic Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/preapocalyptic-situation-3706333/) [Trying Understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-understand-241368/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [The greatest mistake is trying to be more agreeable than you can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/the-greatest-mistake-is-trying-to-be-more-agreeable-than-you-can-be/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [You want to encourage yourself to take risks. 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Cretan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-cretan/) > [“Lajwanti made the cardinal mistake of trying to cross the dividing line that separates the existence of the rich from that of the poor.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikas-swarup/lajwanti-made-the-cardinal-mistake-of-trying-to-cross-the-dividing/) [Vikas Swarup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikas-swarup/) > [The biggest failure you can have in life is making the mistake of never trying at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-biggest-failure-you-can-have-in-life-is-making-the-mistake-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The first mistake is trying to explain morality to a terrorist. Like trying to teach a rock to drive. It is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/the-first-mistake-is-trying-to-explain-morality-to-a-terrorist-like/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [There are situations when all answers and explanations fade. 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It seems like a lot of people don't like the music we make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-ve-given-up-trying-to-understand-what-people-think-about-me-it/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) ## More by Joseph O'Neill > [I felt shame - I see this clearly, now - at the instinctive recognition in myself of an awful enfeebling fatalism, a sense that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/i-felt-shame-i-see-this-clearly-now-at-the-instinctive-recognition-in/) [Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/) > [“...even my work, the largest of the pots and pans I'd placed under my life's leaking ceiling, had become to small to contain my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/even-my-work-the-largest-of-the-pots-and-pans-i-d-placed-under-my/) [Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/) > [I think you sense the metaphorical resonance of what you're writing without analysing it too carefully. 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And in America, in particular, cricket is pretty unspeakable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/you-want-a-novel-to-tap-as-directly-as-possible-into-your-most/) [Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/) > [“A self-evident and prefabricated symbolism attaches itself to this slow climb to the zenith, and we are not so foolishly ironic, or confident, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/a-self-evident-and-prefabricated-symbolism-attaches-itself-to-this/) [Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/) > [“...bright-shirted racers of the Tour de France zoomed by like fantastically bicycling macaws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/bright-shirted-racers-of-the-tour-de-france-zoomed-by-like/) [Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/) > [Novel-writing is a bit like deception. You lie as little as you possibly can. That's the way I do it, anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/novel-writing-is-a-bit-like-deception-you-lie-as-little-as-you/) [Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/) > [“For those under the age of 45 it seemed that world events had finally contrived a meaningful test of their capacity for conscientious political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/for-those-under-the-age-of-45-it-seemed-that-world-events-had-finally/) [Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/) > [“Perhaps the relevant truth- and it's one whose existence was apparent to my wife, and I'm sure to much of the world, long before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-neill/perhaps-the-relevant-truth-and-it-s-one-whose-existence-was-apparent/) [Joseph O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/) [Explore all 61 Joseph O'Neill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-neill/) ## More Cold war quotes > [“A clear look back on the Cold War's battlegrounds, along with a sense of relief that the world survived forty-five years of confrontation, evokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-clear-look-back-on-the-cold-war-s-battlegrounds-along-with-a-sense/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. 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Whether you like it or not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/if-you-don-t-like-us-don-t-accept-our-invitations-and-don-t-invite-us/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [Ever since the end of the Cold War, it has been our paramount interest in Europe to strengthen NATO and to extend it -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-malinowski/ever-since-the-end-of-the-cold-war-it-has-been-our-paramount-interest/) [Tom Malinowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-malinowski/) > [“And so this is where the post Cold War has brought us: to the recognition that the very totalitarism that we fought against in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/and-so-this-is-where-the-post-cold-war-has-brought-us-to-the/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [And so the greatest of American triumphs... became a peculiarly joyless victory. 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It let the FBI work with the NSA outside of the limits of the law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-weiner/stellar-wind-resurrected-cold-war-tactics-with-twenty-first-century/) [Tim Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-weiner/) > [TICAD is a conference Japan launched in 1993 to assist self-supporting development in Africa against the backdrop of the declining international interest in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fumio-kishida/ticad-is-a-conference-japan-launched-in-1993-to-assist-self/) [Fumio Kishida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fumio-kishida/) > [I have seen the rise and fall of Nazi tyranny, the subsequent cold war and the nuclear nightmare that for fifty years haunted the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-have-seen-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-tyranny-the-subsequent-cold-war/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The Cold War philosophy of Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), which prevented the former Soviet Union and the United States from using the nuclear weapons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-lewis/the-cold-war-philosophy-of-mutual-assured-destruction-mad-which/) [Bernard Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-lewis/) [Browse all 906 Cold war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We were trying, as I irrelevantly analyzed it, to avoid what might be termed a historic mistake. 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