“The survivor, then, is a disturber of the peace. He is the runner of the blockade men erect against knowledge of ‘unspeakable’ things. About these he aims to speak, and in so doing he undermines, without intending to, the validity of existing norms. He is a genuine transgressor, and here he is made to feel real guilt. The world to which he appeals does not admit him, and since he has looked to this world as the source of moral order, he begins to doubt himself. And that is not the end, for now his guilt is doubled by betrayal—of himself, of his task, of his vow to the dead. The final guilt is not to bear witness. The survivor’s worst torment is not to be able to speak.”
– Terrence Des Pres, The Survivor
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“It is delightful to observe how, whenever communism is discussed, its adversaries’ fears instinctively lead them to this unavoidable piece of furniture! ‘Who will empty the chamber pot?’ This is always their first cry. ‘Who will empty my chamber pot?’ is what they really mean to say. But they are wise enough not to use the possessive pronoun, and generously direct all their fears to posterity.”
– Louis Auguste Blanqui, (1805 – 1881) French socialist and political activist
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“When one has lived on the edge of death, it becomes possible to sort out from life’s trivia what is truly important. A kind of culture shock developed for vets who returned home to find a society immersed in the pursuit of the insignificant. …America had not changed, but they had. …after Vietnam the binges of a consumer society seem almost obscene.”
– William P. Mahedy, Out of the Night