"War is God's way...."

[Jonathan Lighter]

Very informative article, Garson.

Of the three related saws ("...telling you to slow down," "...teaching
Americans geography," "...remaining anonymous"), all but the first are
simply vapid.

The first is sardonically apt and, in its "Nature's way" form, as
inarguable as meiosis will allow. The second is plain silly, and the third
is close to meaningless.

JL


On Mon, May 19, 2014 at 6:03 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "War is God's way...."
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The Quote Investigator website now has an entry on this topic with an
> acknowledgement to JL and Barry Popik:
>
> War Is God’s Way of Teaching Us Geography
> http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/05/19/geography/
>
> Additional pertinent information would be quite welcome.
> Thanks,
> Garson
>
> On Sun, May 18, 2014 at 5:24 PM, Jonathan Lighter
> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: "War is God's way...."
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Thanks for the pointer to Barry's site, Garson.
> >
> > Somehow I can't shake the mistaken notion that he only does NYC items.
> >
> > To say that "war teaches geography" is, of course, quite a bit different
> > from saying satirically that...well, you know.
> >
> > JL
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sun, May 18, 2014 at 3:40 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole <
> > adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> >> -----------------------
> >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> >> Subject:      Re: "War is God's way...."
> >>
> >>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> > ------
> >>
> >> Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >> > Possibly the hottest new misattributed quote is this:
> >> >
> >> > "War is God's way of teaching Americans geography."
> >> >
> >> > It is confidently assigned to "Ambrose Bierce, in his _Devil's
> >> > Dictionary_."
> >> >
> >> > I immediately knew that was wrong...
> >>
> >> Thanks for pointing to a new wave of popularity for this saying.
> >> Comedian Jon Stewart has used it in the past according to quotation
> >> compiler Robert Byrne. I researched the expression in 2013 after
> >> receiving a request and found that the basic adage has been evolving
> >> since the 1800s. Barry has a valuable entry on the topic here:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/god_created_war_s=
> > o_that_americans_would_learn_geography/
> >>
> >> As JL notes there is no substantive evidence that Ambrose Bierce spoke
> >> or wrote the saying. Your interest (and others) gives this topic a
> >> high priority.
> >>
> >> The QI website has a new entry about another quotation that has been
> >> misattributed to Ambrose Bierce:
> >>
> >> Speak When You=E2=80=99re Angry and You=E2=80=99ll Make the Best Speech
> Y=
> > ou=E2=80=99ll Ever Regret
> >> http://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/05/17/angry-speech/
> >>
> >> Strangely, the Oxford Book of American Quotations assigned this saying
> >> to Bierce.
> >>
> >> Garson
> >>
> >>
> >> Continuing JL's message:
> >> > even when it was cited by Fareed
> >> > Zakaria, because not only have I read Ambrose Bierce's _Devil's
> >> > Dictionary_,  but I can also recall the popularity, around 1970, of
> the
> >> > saying "Death is God's way of telling you to slow down."   There is
> als=
> > o
> >> > the much later, "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous."
> >> >
> >> > GB takes the "war" zinger back to 2002, quite some time after Bierce's
> >> > disappearance 100 years ago.
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > JL
> >> >
> >> >
> >> >
> >> > --
> >> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> >> truth."
> >> >
> >> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --=20
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org