--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Why should American atrocities be merely…" description: "\"Why should American atrocities be merely unsettling, but a trip to Hanoi unconscionable?\" — Tom Hayden" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/tom-hayden-17038_atrocities_why-should-american-atrocities-be-merely_2893030.jpg" --- # Why should American atrocities be merely unsettling, but a… ![“Why should American atrocities be merely unsettling, but a trip to Hanoi unconscionable?” quote by Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/tom-hayden-17038_atrocities_why-should-american-atrocities-be-merely_2893030.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/tom-hayden-17038_atrocities_why-should-american-atrocities-be-merely_2893030.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba6/tom-hayden-17038_atrocities_why-should-american-atrocities-be-merely_2893030.jpg) > “Why should American atrocities be merely unsettling, but a trip to Hanoi unconscionable?” [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. American atrocities should provoke deep moral outrage, not be dismissed as merely unsettling, especially when contrasted with foreign suffering. **In simple terms:** U.S. crimes demand strong moral response. Key Takeaway Demand accountability for national actions. Themes morality war justice Mood critical provocative Type political ethical When to use this quote - public protests - policy discussions - educational forums Key Concepts ethical responsibility historical accountability Questions to Reflect On - What makes an atrocity morally compelling? - How can societies confront their own misdeeds? A Different Perspective Complex geopolitics may dilute focus on specific events. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American Atrocities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-atrocities-4073590/) [Atrocities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocities/) [Atrocities Merely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atrocities-merely-4073594/) [Hanoi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hanoi/) [Hanoi Unconscionable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hanoi-unconscionable-4073593/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Merely Unsettling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merely-unsettling-4073592/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Unsettling Trip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsettling-trip-4073591/) [Vietnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam/) ## Related quotes > [Hanoi Rocks was our baby and we were the core and we started the band. All those years that went to waste because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-monroe/hanoi-rocks-was-our-baby-and-we-were-the-core-and-we-started-the-band/) [Michael Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-monroe/) > [It became very clear that Hanoi was in effect strategically running the Viet Cong operation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-westmoreland/it-became-very-clear-that-hanoi-was-in-effect-strategically-running/) [William Westmoreland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-westmoreland/) > [The Communist leaders in Moscow, Peking and Hanoi must fully understand that the United States considers the freedom of South Viet Nam vital to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/the-communist-leaders-in-moscow-peking-and-hanoi-must-fully/) [Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [We asked Jane Fonda if she would like to meet American pilots in Hanoi, but she refused, she didn't want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanoi-hannah/we-asked-jane-fonda-if-she-would-like-to-meet-american-pilots-in/) [Hanoi Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanoi-hannah/) > [Curtis Le May wants to bomb Hanoi and Haiphong. You know how he likes to go around bombing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/curtis-le-may-wants-to-bomb-hanoi-and-haiphong-you-know-how-he-likes/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [ The one consistent policy running through this \[Clinton\] administration is the love it has lavished on Marxists -- food aid for North Korea, diplomatic… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-feder/the-one-consistent-policy-running-through-this-clinton-administration/) [Don Feder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-feder/) > [Our objective in South Vietnam has never been the annihilation of the enemy. It has been to bring about a recognition in Hanoi that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/our-objective-in-south-vietnam-has-never-been-the-annihilation-of-the/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [The International Control Commission isn't doing anything, it's never done anything. What good does it do to be on it or not? Before opening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/the-international-control-commission-isn-t-doing-anything-it-s-never/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“On Ho Chi Minh's desk in Hanoi on the day he died lay a biography of John Brown.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-loewen/on-ho-chi-minh-s-desk-in-hanoi-on-the-day-he-died-lay-a-biography-of/) [James W. Loewen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-loewen/) > [Let's note, that in what I consider the most disgraceful performance abroad by an American official in my lifetime - something not exampled since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/let-s-note-that-in-what-i-consider-the-most-disgraceful-performance/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [ The important point was that whatever errors America had made \[in Vietnam\] "we are so powerful \[according to Secretary Kissinger\] that Hanoi is simply… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shawcross/the-important-point-was-that-whatever-errors-america-had-made-in/) [William Shawcross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shawcross/) > [The influence of Sun Tzu on other North Vietnamese military strategists is harder to answer. Certainly many of the key leaders in Hanoi were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-duiker/the-influence-of-sun-tzu-on-other-north-vietnamese-military/) [William J. Duiker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-duiker/) > [“Hanoi’s leaders were virtuoso songbirds of propaganda. They lived in a bubble. There were no voices of dissent in their society to check or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/hanoi-s-leaders-were-virtuoso-songbirds-of-propaganda-they-lived-in-a/) [Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/) > [I did go to Vietnam in 2000 as a kind of pilgrimage and to feel my generation was very much a part of this.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/i-did-go-to-vietnam-in-2000-as-a-kind-of-pilgrimage-and-to-feel-my/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) ## More by Tom Hayden > [I'm not ready to give you a clear answer on whether electoral politics holds any particular hope for progressives. It would mean that nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/i-m-not-ready-to-give-you-a-clear-answer-on-whether-electoral/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [All my life I've been involved with racial politics. I was a Freedom Rider in the South. I was the author of books on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/all-my-life-i-ve-been-involved-with-racial-politics-i-was-a-freedom/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [The issue of civil rights was too much for the establishment to handle. One of the chapters of history that's least studied by historians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/the-issue-of-civil-rights-was-too-much-for-the-establishment-to/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [Ive written a book on gangs, taught a course on gangs at Occidental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/ive-written-a-book-on-gangs-taught-a-course-on-gangs-at-occidental/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [Fonda was neither wrong nor unconscionable in what she said and did in North Vietnam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/fonda-was-neither-wrong-nor-unconscionable-in-what-she-said-and-did/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [The peace and justice movement has to expand and not run away from the plight of gang members.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/the-peace-and-justice-movement-has-to-expand-and-not-run-away-from/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [Our crime was that we were beginning to live a new and contagious life-style without official authorization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/our-crime-was-that-we-were-beginning-to-live-a-new-and-contagious/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [ Then you have \[Donald\] Trump. So it could be the tightest, most hazardous race in political history and we can't afford to allow Trump… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/then-you-have-donald-trump-so-it-could-be-the-tightest-most-hazardous/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [A silent majority and government by the people is incompatible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/a-silent-majority-and-government-by-the-people-is-incompatible/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [ We're looking at a quandary here where Bernie's \[Sanders\] the winner on a moral and even a political basis. He's made history, and she's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/we-re-looking-at-a-quandary-here-where-bernie-s-sanders-the-winner-on/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [Vietnam is unique of all the countries in the world, I believe, in having the longest continuous struggle against foreign aggression of any country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/vietnam-is-unique-of-all-the-countries-in-the-world-i-believe-in/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [He led quite a great life, ... He was an Old Testament figure railing against the establishment - a Jewish guy from New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/he-led-quite-a-great-life-he-was-an-old-testament-figure-railing/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [Already this war on gangs in California is taking money from universities to build prisons, and the universities have some clout.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/already-this-war-on-gangs-in-california-is-taking-money-from/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [Most centrist Democrats... try to distance themselves from controversies that recall the 1960s. There are journalistic centrists as well, who avoid hard truths for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/most-centrist-democrats-try-to-distance-themselves-from-controversies/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) > [ It was gonna be a race \[2016\] that set a foundation for the Left in the future. But given the math, I didn't think… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hayden/it-was-gonna-be-a-race-2016-that-set-a-foundation-for-the-left-in-the/) [Tom Hayden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) [Explore all 38 Tom Hayden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hayden/) ## More Atrocities quotes > [A furious Peeta hammers Haymitch with the atrocity he could become party to, but I can feel Haymitch watching me. This is the moment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/a-furious-peeta-hammers-haymitch-with-the-atrocity-he-could-become/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [As far as I know, the question of whether and how it could be strategically or morally justified was never the subject of open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-far-as-i-know-the-question-of-whether-and-how-it-could-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [“I do not know where Viktor and Rudolf were taken. I cannot find the records. I never Elisabeth or Iggie. It is possible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-de-waal/i-do-not-know-where-viktor-and-rudolf-were-taken-i-cannot-find-the/) [Edmund de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-de-waal/) > [I have become convinced, through my studies, that the only way to achieve a safe, just and viable world is to live by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/i-have-become-convinced-through-my-studies-that-the-only-way-to/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Yet only the atrocities of the conquered are referred to as criminal acts; those of the conqueror are justified as necessary, heroic, and even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fergus/yet-only-the-atrocities-of-the-conquered-are-referred-to-as-criminal/) [Jim Fergus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fergus/) > [“I don't know how to stop the atrocities. I don't know how to make people care. But looking into my sister's eyes, we seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-shannon/i-don-t-know-how-to-stop-the-atrocities-i-don-t-know-how-to-make/) [Lisa Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-shannon/) > [War is horrible no matter what. There's going to be atrocities, there's going to be horrible things that happen in war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-hoffman/war-is-horrible-no-matter-what-there-s-going-to-be-atrocities-there-s/) [Mike Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-hoffman/) > [Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-is-the-only-animal-that-deals-in-that-atrocity-of-atrocities-war/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Well before September 11, it was understood that with modern technology, the rich and powerful will lose their near monopoly of the means of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/well-before-september-11-it-was-understood-that-with-modern/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Every Christian who studies history can only grieve over the atrocities that have been committed in the name of God by people who refuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berit-kjos/every-christian-who-studies-history-can-only-grieve-over-the/) [Berit Kjos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berit-kjos/) > [Fanatics can justify practically any atrocity to themselves. 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