--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: May it not also be that the cause of…" description: "\"May it not also be that the cause of civilization itself will be defended by the skill and devotion of a few thousand airmen? There never has been, I s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/winston-churchill-95_air-power_may-it-not-also-be-that-the-cause-of-civ_1074586.jpg" --- # May it not also be that the cause of civilization itself… ![“May it not also be that the cause of civilization itself will be defended by the skill and devotion of a few thousand airmen? There never has been, I suppose, in all the world, in all the history of war, such an opportunity for youth. The Knights of the Round Table, the Crusaders, all fall back…” quote by Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/winston-churchill-95_air-power_may-it-not-also-be-that-the-cause-of-civ_1074586.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/winston-churchill-95_air-power_may-it-not-also-be-that-the-cause-of-civ_1074586.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20d/winston-churchill-95_air-power_may-it-not-also-be-that-the-cause-of-civ_1074586.jpg) > “May it not also be that the cause of civilization itself will be defended by the skill and devotion of a few thousand airmen? There never has been, I suppose, in all the world, in all the history of war, such an opportunity for youth. The Knights of the Round Table, the Crusaders, all fall back into the past.” [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The future of civilization may rest on the dedication of a few, echoing historic knights, but modern war offers unprecedented youth involvement. **In simple terms:** Civilization could depend on devoted youth, like ancient knights. Key Takeaway Support and honor the commitment of young airmen. Themes duty youth war legacy Mood solemn inspirational Type historical motivational When to use this quote - military recruitment - education - public policy - community service Key Concepts history military ethics Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities should society place on young service members? - How does modern warfare differ from historic chivalry? A Different Perspective Youth may lack experience, making reliance risky. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Air power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air-power/) [Aviation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aviation/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Devotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devotion/) [Knights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knights/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Rounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rounds/) [Skills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/skills/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [The triumph of the industrial arts will advance the cause of civilization more rapidly than its warmest advocates could have hoped, and contribute to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-babbage/the-triumph-of-the-industrial-arts-will-advance-the-cause-of/) [Charles Babbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-babbage/) > [During the first World War women in the United States had a chance to try their capacities in wider fields of executive leadershipin industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-barnett-gilson/during-the-first-world-war-women-in-the-united-states-had-a-chance-to/) [Mary Barnett Gilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-barnett-gilson/) > [“In my experience, those for whom war is lucrative are rarely satisfied. 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But he was one of a kind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/robin-williams-was-an-airman-a-doctor-a-genie-a-nanny-and-everything/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The great thing that I appreciate - the fact that my godfather, William 'Sticky' Jackson, was a Tuskegee Airman because my father was first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/the-great-thing-that-i-appreciate-the-fact-that-my-godfather-william/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/soldiers-sailors-and-airmen-of-the-allied-expeditionary-force-you-are/) [Dwight D. 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He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-elder/my-dad-was-a-marine-he-was-one-of-the-montford-point-marines-those/) [Larry Elder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-elder/) > [Never in all their history have men been able truly to conceive of the world as one: a single sphere, a globe, having the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/archibald-macleish/never-in-all-their-history-have-men-been-able-truly-to-conceive-of/) [Archibald MacLeish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/archibald-macleish/) ## More by Winston Churchill > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/this-is-no-time-for-ease-and-comfort-it-is-time-to-dare-and-endure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [If I had been an Italian I am sure that I should have been whole-heartedly with you from the start to finish in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/if-i-had-been-an-italian-i-am-sure-that-i-should-have-been-whole/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Never, never, never give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/never-never-never-give-up/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Man will occasionally stumble over the truth, but most times he will pick himself up and carry on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/man-will-occasionally-stumble-over-the-truth-but-most-times-he-will/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [God alone knows how great it is. All I hope is that it is not too late. I am very much afraid that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/god-alone-knows-how-great-it-is-all-i-hope-is-that-it-is-not-too-late/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [When you're 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you're 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you're 60 you realize no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/when-you-re-20-you-care-what-everyone-thinks-when-you-re-40-you-stop/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Writing a book is an adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/writing-a-book-is-an-adventure/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [All men make mistakes, but only wise men learn from their mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/all-men-make-mistakes-but-only-wise-men-learn-from-their-mistakes/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [People who are not prepared to do unpopular things and defy the clamor of the multitude are not fit to be ministers in time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/people-who-are-not-prepared-to-do-unpopular-things-and-defy-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [To meet Roosevelt with all his buoyant sparkle, his iridescence, was like opening a bottle of champagne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/to-meet-roosevelt-with-all-his-buoyant-sparkle-his-iridescence-was/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [I am always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-am-always-ready-to-learn-although-i-do-not-always-like-being-taught/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There are plenty of good ideas, if only they can be backed with the power of action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-are-plenty-of-good-ideas-if-only-they-can-be-backed-with-the/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) [Explore all 1,366 Winston Churchill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) ## More Air power quotes > [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [A thing of orchestrated hell-a terrible symphony of light and flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/a-thing-of-orchestrated-hell-a-terrible-symphony-of-light-and-flame/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) > [This strongly asserted but ill-defined license to kill without accountability is not an entitlement which the United States or other states can have without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-alston/this-strongly-asserted-but-ill-defined-license-to-kill-without/) Philip Alston > [Air power is new to all our countries. It brings advantages to some and weakens others; it calls for readjustment everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/air-power-is-new-to-all-our-countries-it-brings-advantages-to-some/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [“Smith proposed not to use air power, but to employ an ad hoc group to open Mount Igman road into Sarajevo. This was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-willem-honig/smith-proposed-not-to-use-air-power-but-to-employ-an-ad-hoc-group-to/) [Jan Willem Honig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-willem-honig/) > [Air power and military are meant to fight the enemy and not your own citizens... How do you differentiate a Maoist?... It will create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kishore-chandra-deo/air-power-and-military-are-meant-to-fight-the-enemy-and-not-your-own/) [Kishore Chandra Deo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kishore-chandra-deo/) > [Air power will not defeat ISIS. It has not been able to deny ISIS freedom of maneuver and the ability to attack at will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-keane/air-power-will-not-defeat-isis-it-has-not-been-able-to-deny-isis/) [Jack Keane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-keane/) > ["He who wants to protect everything, protects nothing," is one of the fundamental rules of defense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-galland/he-who-wants-to-protect-everything-protects-nothing-is-one-of-the/) [Adolf Galland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-galland/) > [Air power alone does not guarantee America's security, but I believe it best exploits the nation's greatest asset - our technical skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoyt-vandenberg/air-power-alone-does-not-guarantee-america-s-security-but-i-believe/) Hoyt Vandenberg > [Why don't we just buy one airplane and let the pilots take turns flying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/why-don-t-we-just-buy-one-airplane-and-let-the-pilots-take-turns/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [The Navy can lose us the war, but only the Air Force can win it. Therefore our supreme effort must be to gain overwhelming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-navy-can-lose-us-the-war-but-only-the-air-force-can-win-it/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [If we had these rockets in 1939, we should never have had this war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/if-we-had-these-rockets-in-1939-we-should-never-have-had-this-war/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [I am purely evil; Hear the thrum of my evil engine; Evilly I come. The stars are thick as flowers In the meadows of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-mannin/i-am-purely-evil-hear-the-thrum-of-my-evil-engine-evilly-i-come-the/) Ethel Mannin > [If we maintain our faith in God, love of freedom, and superior global air power, the future looks good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-lemay/if-we-maintain-our-faith-in-god-love-of-freedom-and-superior-global/) [Curtis LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-lemay/) > [This counter-terrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out Isil wherever they exist, using our air power and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/this-counter-terrorism-campaign-will-be-waged-through-a-steady/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) [Browse all 114 Air power quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air-power/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "May it not also be that the cause of civilization itself will be defended by the skill and devotion of a few thousand airmen? 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