"All mass movements avail themselves of action as a means of unification. The conflicts a mass movement seeks and incites serve not only to down its enemies but also to strip its followers of their distinct individuality and render them more soluble in the collective medium. Clearing of land, building of cities, exploration and large-scale industrial undertakings serve a similar purpose. Even mere marching can serve as a unifier. The Nazis made vast use of this preposterous variant of action. Hermann Rauschning, who at first thought this eternal marching a senseless waste of time and energy, recognized later its subtle effect. “Marching diverts men’s thoughts. Marching kills thought. Marching makes an end of individuality.”"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Section 14, Chapter 98 (p. 112)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_True_Believer
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
The True Believer
137 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by The True Believer →
Related Quotes
"When people are ripe for a mass movement, they are usually ripe for any effective movement, and not solely for one wi…"
"The religious character of the Bolshevik and Nazi revolutions is generally recognized. The hammer and sickle and the …"
"There is no doubt that in exchanging a self-centered for a selfless life we gain enormously in self-esteem. The vanit…"
"When our individual interests and prospects do not seem worth living for, we are in desperate need for something apar…"
"This receptivity to all movements does not always cease even after the potential true believer has become the ardent …"
"Since all mass movements draw their adherents from the same types of humanity and appeal to the same types of mind, i…"
"The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for…"
"A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own mean…"
"Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a substitute for the lost faith in ourselves."
"There is a tendency to judge a race, a nation or any distinct group by its least worthy members. Though manifestly un…"