Painterly two toy soldiers on scorched ground, one standing and one fallen, beneath a smoky sky.

Original artwork, not a still

Franklin D. Roosevelt

You cannot organize civilization around the core of militarism and at the same time expect reason to control human destinies.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker argues that a society built around military power cannot also count on rational judgment to steer human fate. If armed force sits at the centre of civilization, reason gets pushed aside, and the outcomes people hope for through wisdom become unlikely.

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