"No sir, anybody who went out and got into the front line trenches to fight for liberty was a goddamn fool and the guy who got him there was a liar. Next time anybody came gabbling to him about liberty — what did he mean next time? There wasn't going to be any next time for him. But the hell with that. If there could be a next time and somebody said "let's fight for liberty", he would say mister my life is important. I'm not a fool and when I swap my life for liberty I've got to know in advance what liberty is, and whose idea of liberty we're talking about and just how much of that liberty we're going to have. And what's more mister — are you as much interested in liberty as you want me to be? And maybe too much liberty will be as bad as too little liberty and I think you're a goddamn fourflusher talking through your hat, and I've already decided that I like the liberty I've got right here. The liberty to walk and see and hear and talk and eat and sleep with my girl. I think I like that liberty better than fighting for a lot of things we won't get and ending up without any liberty at all. Ending up dead and rotting before my life is even begun good or ending up like a side of beef. Thank you mister. You fight for liberty. Me, I don't care for some."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Novelists from the United StatesScreenwriters from the United StatesPeople from ColoradoMembers of the Communist Party USA
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dalton_Trumbo
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Dalton Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter and novelist, and a member of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film makers who testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry.
10 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Dalton Trumbo →
Related Quotes
"Democracy means that people can say what they want to. All the people. It means that they can vote as they wish. All …"
"Never again to wiggle your toes. What a hell of a thing, what a wonderful, beautiful thing, to wiggle your toes."
"Did anybody ever come back from the dead, any single one of the millions who got killed, did any one of them ever com…"
"There's nothing noble about dying. Not even if you die for honor. Not even if you die the greatest hero the world eve…"
"Just say "mister I'm sorry, I got no time to die, I'm too busy" and then turn and run like hell. If they say coward w…"
"Inside me I'm screaming, nobody pays any attention. If I had arms, I could kill myself. If I had legs, I could run aw…"
"There's a game out there, and the stakes are high. And the guy who runs it figures the averages all day long and all …"
"Remember this well you people who plan for war. Remember this you patriots, you fierce ones, you spawners of hate, yo…"
"Put the guns into our hands and we will use them. Give us the slogans and we will turn them into realities. Sing the …"
"Would you end war? Create great Peace."