How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
"All these war scares are concocted by the Pentagon—no offense meant to your brother—to get more appropriations, and give more handouts to Europe, and jack up taxes." (4.77)
A war? In this day and age? Not likely—war is so last year. Silly as it sounds, that's the belief held by many before the terror of The Day. Maybe it's because they haven't thought deeply enough about the issue to understand it. Maybe it's because they've repressed the idea because it's too tough to handle. Either way, this thought process leads to foolish complacency in the face of danger.
Quote #5
"As long as people keep talking they're not fighting. When Moscow quits talking, I'm afraid they're acting." (4.130)
Nuclear conflict, it seems, consists of a lot of empty threats and macho posturing, so it's a big deal when someone shuts up for once. That usually means they're planning something nasty.
Quote #6
It seemed incongruous to call The Day a war [...] because the war really was all over in a single day. Furthermore, nobody in the Western Hemisphere ever saw the face of a human enemy. (6.2)
More than anything, this passage makes us think about how detached the leaders of this conflict are from the consequences of their actions. If they were to actually sit down and think about the human cost of all this destruction, they might think twice. Unfortunately for our species, however, that option seems to have never crossed their minds.