--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wish those people who write so glibly…" description: "\"“I wish those people who write so glibly about this being a holy War, and the orators who talk so much about going on no matter how long the War lasts ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/vera-brittain-12183_blind-eye_i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly_2162413.png" --- # I wish those people who write so glibly about this being a… ![“I wish those people who write so glibly about this being a holy War, and the orators who talk so much about going on no matter how long the War lasts and what it may mean, could see a case--to say nothing of 10 cases--of mustard gas in its early stages--could see the poor things burnt and…” quote by Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/vera-brittain-12183_blind-eye_i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly_2162413.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/vera-brittain-12183_blind-eye_i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly_2162413.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/vera-brittain-12183_blind-eye_i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly_2162413.png) > ““I wish those people who write so glibly about this being a holy War, and the orators who talk so much about going on no matter how long the War lasts and what it may mean, could see a case--to say nothing of 10 cases--of mustard gas in its early stages--could see the poor things burnt and blistered all over with great mustard-coloured suppurating blisters, with blind eyes--sometimes temporally, sometimes permanently--all sticky and stuck together, and always fighting for breath, with voices a mere whisper, saying that their throats are closing and they know they will choke.”” [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The horror of chemical warfare is described in vivid detail, emphasizing suffering and the desperate fight for breath. **In simple terms:** War gas causes terrible pain and suffocation. Key Takeaway Recognize the true cost of war. Themes war human suffering chemical weapons Mood somber reflective Type historical anti‑war When to use this quote - history lessons - peace activism - veteran support Key Concepts trench warfare psychological trauma Questions to Reflect On - How does this description change your view of war? - What can we do to prevent such weapons? A Different Perspective The quote focuses on personal suffering, not strategic outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-eye/) [Fighting Breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting-breath-4594138/) [Holy war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holy-war/) [Mustard gas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mustard-gas/) [Poor Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-things/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [War Orators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war-orators-4594137/) [Whisper Saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whisper-saying-4594139/) [Wwi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wwi/) ## Related quotes > [I wish those people who write so glibly about this being a holy war and the orators who talk so much about going on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly-about-this-being-a-holy-war/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [“You did… that… on purpose," she said, fighting for breath. „Assuredly. You could not think I kissed you by accident.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/you-did-that-on-purpose-she-said-fighting-for-breath-assuredly-you/) [Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/) > [“The only tangible thing is her, in my arms. I hang on, fighting for breath, pleading for mercy and blessings I don’t deserve.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zara-cox/the-only-tangible-thing-is-her-in-my-arms-i-hang-on-fighting-for/) [Zara Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zara-cox/) > [The more innocuous the name of a weapon, the more hideous its impact. Some of the most horrific weapons of the Vietnam era were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dickson/the-more-innocuous-the-name-of-a-weapon-the-more-hideous-its-impact-2/) [Paul Dickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dickson/) > [The Iraqi regime . . . possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons. We know that the regime has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/the-iraqi-regime-possesses-and-produces-chemical-and-biological/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [This is why mustard gas is such a danger or any weapon of mass destruction is such a dangerous thing because it - it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-packer/this-is-why-mustard-gas-is-such-a-danger-or-any-weapon-of-mass/) [George Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-packer/) > [It's horrible to think that a small cadre of people would manipulate that information. I mean, for God's sake, we've admitted that we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-schultz/it-s-horrible-to-think-that-a-small-cadre-of-people-would-manipulate/) [Dwight Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-schultz/) > [“An American ship carrying mustard gas off Bari in Italy was bombed by the Germans 1942. It helped develop chemotherapy owing to the effect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/an-american-ship-carrying-mustard-gas-off-bari-in-italy-was-bombed-by/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [We do know that the Iraqi regime has chemical and biological weapons. His regime has amassed large, clandestine stockpiles of chemical weapons - including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/we-do-know-that-the-iraqi-regime-has-chemical-and-biological-weapons/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [The more innocuous the name of a weapon, the more hideous its impact. 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Heavier than air, it settled into craters and trenches where men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-e-persico/mustard-gas-was-stubborn-clinging-to-the-ground-as-long-as-three-days/) [Joseph E. Persico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-e-persico/) > [I have this disease late at night sometimes, involving alcohol and the telephone. I get drunk, and I drive my wife away with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-have-this-disease-late-at-night-sometimes-involving-alcohol-and-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Pesticides came about after the first world war. Some brainy petrochemical money maker said, 'Hey, that mustard gas worked great on people, maybe we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/pesticides-came-about-after-the-first-world-war-some-brainy/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) ## More by Vera Brittain > [“At this time of the year it seems that everything ought to be creative, not destructive, and that we should encourage things to live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/at-this-time-of-the-year-it-seems-that-everything-ought-to-be/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [“Mother says that people like me just become intellectual old maids,' I told him. 'I don't see why,' he protested. 'Oh, well, it's probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/mother-says-that-people-like-me-just-become-intellectual-old-maids-i/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [“It is quite impossible to understand,’ I commented afterwards, ‘how we can be such strong individualists, so insistent on the rights and claims of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/it-is-quite-impossible-to-understand-i-commented-afterwards-how-we/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [Babies are a nuisance, of course. But so does everything seem to be that is worth while – husbands and books and committees and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/babies-are-a-nuisance-of-course-but-so-does-everything-seem-to-be/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [All that a pacifist can undertake -- but it is a very great deal -- is to refuse to kill, injure or otherwise cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/all-that-a-pacifist-can-undertake-but-it-is-a-very-great-deal-is-to/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [An author who waits for the right 'mood' will soon find that 'moods' get fewer and fewer until they cease altogether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/an-author-who-waits-for-the-right-mood-will-soon-find-that-moods-get/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [ “\[I\] wondered if he was looking up at that same moon, far away, and thinking of me as I was thinking of him.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/i-wondered-if-he-was-looking-up-at-that-same-moon-far-away-and/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [Why, I wonder, do people who at one time or another have all been young themselves, and who ought therefore to know better, generalize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/why-i-wonder-do-people-who-at-one-time-or-another-have-all-been-young/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [Venice is all sea and sculpture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/venice-is-all-sea-and-sculpture/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [We should never be at the mercy of Providence if only we understood that we ourselves are Providence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/we-should-never-be-at-the-mercy-of-providence-if-only-we-understood/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [I wish those people who write so glibly about this being a holy war and the orators who talk so much about going on,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly-about-this-being-a-holy-war/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [College is a secluded life of scholastic vegetation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/college-is-a-secluded-life-of-scholastic-vegetation/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [Meek wifehood is no part of my profession; / I am your friend, but never your possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/meek-wifehood-is-no-part-of-my-profession-i-am-your-friend-but-never/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [“Could I write an autobiographical novel, I wonder? Can one make a book out of the very essence of one's self? Perhaps so, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/could-i-write-an-autobiographical-novel-i-wonder-can-one-make-a-book/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) > [most of us have to be self-righteous before we can be righteous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/most-of-us-have-to-be-self-righteous-before-we-can-be-righteous/) [Vera Brittain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) [Explore all 56 Vera Brittain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/) ## More Blind eye quotes > [I've always thought that you don't love a country by turning a blind eye to its crimes and to a problem. The way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-ve-always-thought-that-you-don-t-love-a-country-by-turning-a-blind/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Will we ever learn and truly see, when we continue turning a blind eye to those in despair, that are in badly need...we help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-pina/will-we-ever-learn-and-truly-see-when-we-continue-turning-a-blind-eye/) [Timothy Pina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-pina/) > [“Do I want to be loved in spite of?Do you? Does anyone? But aren't we all to some degree? Aren't there important parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/do-i-want-to-be-loved-in-spite-of-do-you-does-anyone-but-aren-t-we/) [Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/) > [My left eye went when I was young. I was working the speed bag, and some steel went in the eye and scratched it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-frazier/my-left-eye-went-when-i-was-young-i-was-working-the-speed-bag-and/) [Joe Frazier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-frazier/) > [We think of justice sometimes as getting what you deserve, you know - what crime was committed and what is the punishment for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/we-think-of-justice-sometimes-as-getting-what-you-deserve-you-know/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [Blind in the eye, so I see you with my heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brother-ali/blind-in-the-eye-so-i-see-you-with-my-heart/) [Brother Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brother-ali/) > [The consequences of turning a blind eye to government corruption go far beyond simply letting some corrupt politicians and bureaucrats walk free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-fitton/the-consequences-of-turning-a-blind-eye-to-government-corruption-go/) [Tom Fitton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-fitton/) > [The newspapers turn a blind eye to how they get their material as long as they have great photographs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sienna-miller/the-newspapers-turn-a-blind-eye-to-how-they-get-their-material-as/) [Sienna Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sienna-miller/) > [That's one part of this industry that you really have to get used to, the idea of turning a blind eye to pretty much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/that-s-one-part-of-this-industry-that-you-really-have-to-get-used-to/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [“DON’T BE RULED BY HIDDEN FAULTS AND WILLFUL SIN But who can discern their own errors? 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Keep your servant also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tsika/don-t-be-ruled-by-hidden-faults-and-willful-sin-but-who-can-discern/) [Paul Tsika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tsika/) > [When I could not see the light with my blind eyes, I blamed not my eyes, but the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/when-i-could-not-see-the-light-with-my-blind-eyes-i-blamed-not-my/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [“my love is blind eyes druged by beauty legs maimed from dancing for joy hearing impared from great song I still dont care because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savage/my-love-is-blind-eyes-druged-by-beauty-legs-maimed-from-dancing-for/) [Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savage/) > [Never forget that turning a blind eye to oppression and watching from the sidelines is itself opression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-forget-that-turning-a-blind-eye-to-oppression-and-watching-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I try to live my life every day in the present, and try not to turn a blind eye to injustice and need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-try-to-live-my-life-every-day-in-the-present-and-try-not-to-turn-a/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [“We simply cannot engage with either the ills or promises of society if we continue to turn a blind eye to the egregious and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angel-kyodo-williams/we-simply-cannot-engage-with-either-the-ills-or-promises-of-society/) [Angel Kyodo Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angel-kyodo-williams/) [Browse all 153 Blind eye quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-eye/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I wish those people who write so glibly about this being a holy War, and the orators who talk so much about going on no matter how long the War lasts and what it may mean, could see a case--to say nothing of 10 cases--of mustard gas in its early stages--could see the poor things burnt and blistered all over with great mustard-coloured suppurating blisters, with blind eyes--sometimes temporally, sometimes permanently--all sticky and stuck together, and always fighting for breath, with voices a mere whisper, saying that their throats are closing and they know they will choke.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vera Brittain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly-about-this-being-a-holy-war-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blind eye" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly-about-this-being-a-holy-war-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/vera-brittain-12183_blind-eye_i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly_2162413.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/vera-brittain-12183_blind-eye_i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly_2162413.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/36d/vera-brittain-12183_blind-eye_i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly_2162413.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wish those people who write so glibly about this being a holy War, and the orators who talk so much about…” — Vera Brittain", "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": "Vera Brittain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-brittain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I wish those people who write...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly-about-this-being-a-holy-war-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-brittain/i-wish-those-people-who-write-so-glibly-about-this-being-a-holy-war-2/#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 } } ] } ```