Sebastian Junger Quotes

Of two evils we must always choose the least.

You know, I'm no different from a fireman. You got to run into a fire no matter how big the blaze is.

Firefighters go where they're needed, sometimes ignoring the dangers even when no one is inside a burning building to be saved.

In a fire, you have to be thoughtful; you have to have a certain kind of intuitive smarts that the veterans have. I'm not there yet, despite the Stanford degree.

I've had tons of odd jobs, but I think that I would probably be a fireman because you get to see the results of your job. You get there and there is a house on fire. You leave and there's not a fire anymore.

If my house was on fire, I can't compromise about which part of the house I'm going to save. You save the whole house or it will all burn down. We either save this country or we do not.

Saving a life overrides territories.

Surely there comes a time when counting the cost and paying the price aren't things to think about any more. All that matters is value - the ultimate value of what one does.

We live in a world of competing sorrows ... to govern is to choose.

The decision to put American lives at risk is a decision that has a very high hurdle to pass.

I have such a deeper respect for firemen knowing how much they get paid and how much they put themselves on the line.

I always wanted to be a cop or a fireman or do something dangerous.

Yes, the cost is high, but the price of neglect would be infinitely higher.

Do you suppose that sacrifice is the hallmark of moral action?--Just stop to consider whether sacrifice is not involved in every action that is done with deliberation, the worst as well as the best.

Some things are more important than safety.

I'm like a fireman. When I go out on a call, I want to put out a big fire, I don't want to put out a fire in a dumpster.

Would I drown saving him?

... sometimes you have to deal / Devilishly with drowning men in order to swim them to shore.

Two hands. One to destroy, the other to save. Which had he lost?

It was wrong. But it was worth it.

I'm sorry about your face." Jamie looked over his shoulder, and touched the demon's mark crawling along his jaw with the back of his hand. "Sorry about saving all our lives by doing something you had to do?" "Oh no," Nick said blandly. "I just meant, you know. Generally.

Although human life is priceless, we always act as if something had an even greater price than life... but what is that something?

It gives me some kind of chance to survive the night." "How are those better odds? If you come back with me, you're guaranteed to survive the night." "No," Reacher said. "If I come back with you, I'm guaranteed to die of shame.

He knew. I could see it in his face. Look, if someone gets infected you've got between ten and twenty seconds to kill them. It might be your brother or your sister or your oldest friend. It makes no difference. And just so you know where you stand - if it happens to you, I'll do it in a heartbeat.

Let's say there was a burning building and you could rush in and you could save only one thing: either the last known copy of Shakespeare's plays or some anonymous human being. What would you do?