I find war detestable, but those who praise it without participating in it even more so.

Hello, I am Romain Rolland, a writer, thinker, and pacifist deeply committed to the ideals of humanity and peace. In my lifetime, during the turbulent years of the early 20th century, I bore witness to the devastation and tragedy that war brings. I once expressed my disdain for it with these words: "I find war detestable, but those who praise it without participating in it even more so." Let us explore this statement, how it applied in my era, and why it remains as relevant—if not more so—in your time today. How It Applied Then I lived during one of the most violent periods of human history. The First World War had engulfed Europe and much of the world in a storm of destruction and suffering. Millions of lives were lost in the trenches, and countless families were torn apart. Yet, amidst this tragedy, I observed a troubling hypocrisy. Many of those who championed war, who glorified it as a noble pursuit, did so from a safe distance. They were not the soldiers in the trenches, enduring the mud, the blood, and the unspeakable horrors of combat. They were politicians, intellectuals, and members of the elite, crafting rhetoric about honor and patriotism while remaining untouched by the consequences of their advocacy. Their detachment from the reality of war fueled my condemnation. For me, the glorification of violence by those who had never faced its brutal reality was not only hypocritical but deeply immoral. It perpetuated cycles of destruction without accountability, leaving the most vulnerable to pay the ultimate price.