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Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Quote of the day: Optimists vs. pessimists

A friend passes along this aphorism, which was new to me: “In the 30s, the pessimists went to New York and the optimists went to Auschwitz.”

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
2016-11_Statue_of_Liberty_02
2016-11_Statue_of_Liberty_02

 

 

A friend passed along this aphorism, which was new to me: “In the 30s, the pessimists went to New York and the optimists went to Auschwitz.”

That resonates with me particularly because recently, in a pessimistic mood, I wondered if the situation nowadays resembles the 1850s domestically but the 1930s internationally.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

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