--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This war is not necessary. We are truly…" description: "\"This war is not necessary. We are truly sleepwalking through history.\" — Robert Byrd" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca8/robert-byrd-17085_history_this-war-is-not-necessary-we-are-truly-s_2421994.png" --- # This war is not necessary. We are truly sleepwalking… ![“This war is not necessary. We are truly sleepwalking through history.” quote by Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca8/robert-byrd-17085_history_this-war-is-not-necessary-we-are-truly-s_2421994.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca8/robert-byrd-17085_history_this-war-is-not-necessary-we-are-truly-s_2421994.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca8/robert-byrd-17085_history_this-war-is-not-necessary-we-are-truly-s_2421994.png) > “This war is not necessary. We are truly sleepwalking through history.” [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. War often continues without necessity, driven by collective inertia and unexamined momentum. **In simple terms:** Wars can be pointless and driven by habit. Key Takeaway Question the purpose before supporting conflict. Themes war history politics inertia Mood somber analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political debates - military planning - public protests Key Concepts critical thinking peace studies social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Why do societies accept ongoing wars? - What alternatives exist to break the cycle? A Different Perspective It may oversimplify complex geopolitical causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary/) [Necessary Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-truly-6132339/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Sleepwalking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleepwalking/) [Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly/) [Truly Sleepwalking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly-sleepwalking-6132340/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-necessary-326065/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not a pacifist. 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It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“The starkest reality of war is that the enemy is never really a monster, never inhuman ... Every soldier is the same fallible breed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-goff/the-starkest-reality-of-war-is-that-the-enemy-is-never-really-a/) [Stan Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-goff/) > [Politics are not unlike war. Sometimes it is necessary to shoot from the hip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-h-jones/politics-are-not-unlike-war-sometimes-it-is-necessary-to-shoot-from/) [Jesse H. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-h-jones/) > [I value peace, and I should unwillingly see any event take place which would render war a necessary resource.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-value-peace-and-i-should-unwillingly-see-any-event-take-place-which/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I have a feeling that climate change may be an issue as severe as a war. 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Sometimes fear is necessary for the soul to find its path again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/sometimes-war-is-necessary-in-order-that-we-can-finally-find-peace/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The powers-that-be understand that to create the appropriate atmosphere for war, it’s necessary to create within the general populace a hatred, fear or mistrust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-morcan/the-powers-that-be-understand-that-to-create-the-appropriate/) [James Morcan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-morcan/) > [Either Christ is a liar or war is never necessary, and very properly assuming that Christ told the truth, it follows that the State…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-salmon/either-christ-is-a-liar-or-war-is-never-necessary-and-very-properly/) [Ben Salmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-salmon/) > [“It is not enough to say, 'We must not wage war.' It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/it-is-not-enough-to-say-we-must-not-wage-war-it-is-necessary-to-love/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/war-may-sometimes-be-a-necessary-evil-but-no-matter-how-necessary-it/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [So far as I am concerned I have no doctrinaire belief in free speech. In the interest of the war it is necessary to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/so-far-as-i-am-concerned-i-have-no-doctrinaire-belief-in-free-speech/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) ## More by Robert Byrd > [The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/the-last-un-weapons-inspectors-left-iraq-in-october-of-1998-we-are/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [We, unlike Nazi Germany or Mussolini's Italy, have never stopped being a nation of laws, not of men. But witness how men with motives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/we-unlike-nazi-germany-or-mussolini-s-italy-have-never-stopped-being/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [And the president is all wrong when he maintains that a nominee should have an up-or-down vote. The Constitution doesn't say that. The Constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/and-the-president-is-all-wrong-when-he-maintains-that-a-nominee/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [To engage in war is always to pick a wild card. And war must always be a last resort, not a first choice. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/to-engage-in-war-is-always-to-pick-a-wild-card-and-war-must-always-be/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [It was the separation of powers upon which the framers placed their hopes for the preservation of the people's liberties. Despite this heritage, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/it-was-the-separation-of-powers-upon-which-the-framers-placed-their/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [Be sure you avoid the Ku Klux Klan. Don't get that albatross around your neck. Once you've made that mistake, you inhibit your operations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/be-sure-you-avoid-the-ku-klux-klan-don-t-get-that-albatross-around/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [It is money, money, money! Not ideas, not principles, but money that reigns supreme in American politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/it-is-money-money-money-not-ideas-not-principles-but-money-that/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [The ongoing strife in Iraq, and the billions of dollars that the President is seeking to continue that war, give me little comfort that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/the-ongoing-strife-in-iraq-and-the-billions-of-dollars-that-the/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [The money the president wants to borrow for Iraq will come directly out of the American taxpayer wallets in the form of Medicare and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/the-money-the-president-wants-to-borrow-for-iraq-will-come-directly/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [Is it any wonder, why the approval ratings of the Congress go up every time we go into recess?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/is-it-any-wonder-why-the-approval-ratings-of-the-congress-go-up-every/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [Political correctness gets in the way of all too many things in this country of ours, I am not a subscriber of political correctness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/political-correctness-gets-in-the-way-of-all-too-many-things-in-this/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [Can it be that we, too, are ready to embrace the foul concepts of atheism? Somebody is tampering with America's soul, I leave it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/can-it-be-that-we-too-are-ready-to-embrace-the-foul-concepts-of/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [That's what the Senate is about. It's the last bastion of minority rights, where a minority can be heard, where a minority can stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/that-s-what-the-senate-is-about-it-s-the-last-bastion-of-minority/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [Saddam Hussein is a threat, but the threat is not so great that we must be stampeded to provide such authority to this president…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/saddam-hussein-is-a-threat-but-the-threat-is-not-so-great-that-we/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) > [Mission accomplished? The mission in Iraq, as laid out by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, has failed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-byrd/mission-accomplished-the-mission-in-iraq-as-laid-out-by-president/) [Robert Byrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) [Explore all 36 Robert Byrd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-byrd/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. 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It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) [C-DASH](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-dash/) > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This war is not necessary. 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