We relinquished our freedom that day, and we were more than happy to see it go. From that moment on we lived in true freedom, the freedom to point to someone else and say โThey told me to do it! Itโs their fault, not mine.โ The freedom, God help us, to say โI was only following orders.โ-World War Z
Max BrooksCan you ever โsolveโ poverty? Can you ever โsolveโ crime? Can you ever โsolveโ disease, unemployment, war, or any other societal herpes? Hell no.
Max Brooks[...]you donโt have to be Sun freakin Tzu to know that real fighting isnโt about killing or even hurting the other guy, itโs about scaring him enough to call it a day.
Max BrooksThey say great times make great men. I don't buy it. I saw a lot of weakness, a lot of filth. People who should have risen to the challenge and either couldn't or wouldn't. Greed, fear, stupidity and hate. I saw it before the war, I see it today. [...] I don't know if great times make great men, but I know they can kill them.
Max BrooksAmerica is especially sensitive to war weariness, and nothing brings backlash like the perception of defeat. I say โperceptionโ because America is a very all-or-nothing societyโฆ We like to know, and for everyone else to know, that our victory wasnโt uncontested, it was positively devastating.
Max Brooks