Pete Hegseth > Quotes

“We need to clean house of woke generals. Currently the Department of Defense has forty-four four-star generals with a total force of 1.2 million serving. In World War II, there were only seven four-star generals and over 21 million were serving. It’s upside down, and ripe for firings—without replacements.”
― Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free

“Plato records the dialogues that Socrates had with a number of bystanders, like Euthyphro, Gorgias, and Meno. In these dialogues, Socrates employs Logos to prove that there is only one God, one ultimate standard of goodness (virtue), and that man cannot know about God unless He reveals Himself to us. These, and many other logical proofs by Socrates, resulted in two things: First, he was put to death by the Greeks for “corrupting the youth” and “atheism” because he argued against the prevailing view of this time (sound familiar?). And second, five hundred years later, he would be recognized as the first proto-Christian. His views became the center of Hellenistic philosophy, in which Christianity was formed.”
― Pete Hegseth, Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation

“Losing my legs was the worst day of my life, simply because every day after that was better. Every day after that I was a little more healed, a little better for prosthetics, a little more experienced. I just wish people would take the time to appreciate the fact that we let so many things into our headspace and dictate if we’re going to enjoy this moment or not that really should have no control over us. And you can use perspective to get there. Let’s say you’re”
― Pete Hegseth, Modern Warriors: Real Stories from Real Heroes

“From Trotsky, to Lenin, to Mao, to Castro—to socialist Bernie Sanders and Comrade Ocasio-Cortez—a common tool for manipulating paideia is to use words that people associate with positive virtues, but to change their meaning.”
― Pete Hegseth, Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation

“Ultimately, this type of approach is not the fault of the troops—it is the fault of the general class.”
― Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free

“Rights are not rights when they are contingent on the favor of government or political leaders.”
― Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free

“As Mark Levin recently documented, the Democrat Party really does hate America. Our Constitution, our flag, our faith, and our creeds.”
― Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free

“If we want to live free, we’d better be willing to die trying.”
― Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free

“I also didn’t want to be in a higher headquarters unit—that’s why I got out of the Army in 2014. Higher headquarters crush your soul. They are bureaucratic, political, and mind-numbingly boring. I wanted to get back out on the gun range, back on the drill floor, out with soldiers.”
― Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free

“Worst of all, military leaders who go along with the leftist social experiments—get promoted. It’s been that way since Obama, and is on hyperspeed today.”
― Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free

“one were to place the founding fathers on a spectrum between traditional Christian authority and Deistic rationalism, it might be reflected this way—Christians: John Jay, Patrick Henry, Roger Sherman, John Witherspoon, Benjamin Rush; mixed theology: Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, George Washington; and Deists: James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine.”
― Pete Hegseth, Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation

“Sure, some of our generals may (or may not) have been combat leaders as captains or lieutenant colonels, but once you pin a star on your shoulder, the political pressure mounts. Go-along-to-get-along, and get promoted, is the smoothest path. Don’t rock the boat, do what your political masters tell you, never admit mistakes—and get promoted. Then, once you retire, you get to collect a pension and a sweet job from Lockheed Martin.”
― Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free

“Human civilization was rooted in raw power and superstition. Life, as Thomas Hobbes wrote, was brutish and short. To our eyes, their customs were weird and pagan. People were told what to believe, and they did. Each tribe or nation had a god. And broader people-groups shared multiple gods. Most men were indentured to authoritarian leaders. The Greco-Roman-Christian civilization changed all that. Today we take this for granted. And, because we take it for granted, we are about to lose civilization as we know it.”
― Pete Hegseth, Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation

“Under the old form of classical Christian education, children gained wisdom by studying history and the classics.”
― Pete Hegseth, Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation

“we want to live free, we’d better be willing to die trying.”
― Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free

“The closest thing I’ve ever seen to God is when you see people sacrifice knowingly without Any concern for themselves. -- Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, US Army in "Modern Warriors”
― Pete Hegseth, Modern Warriors: Real Stories from Real Heroes

“Joining a team often starts with self-interest, but if that continues to be your priority, you have a problem.”
― Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free

“Make no mistake about it: the historical singularity that was America’s founding was a result of the culmination of the Western Christian Paideia (WCP). Full stop.”
― Pete Hegseth, Battle for the American Mind: Uprooting a Century of Miseducation

“Don’t just take my word for it, here are the folks who wrote the book on it. Each year, the Heritage Foundation publishes its Index of U.S. Military Strength. Think of it as a 650-page report card for every branch of the U.S. military. Its 2024 report is blunt, “as currently postured, the U.S. military is at significant risk of not being able to defend America’s vital national interests.” For the second year in a row, our military is rated as “weak” relative to the force needed to defend national interests. Weak . . . two years in a row. The authors of this exhaustive report are patriots. Most are former military. They love our troops. And they are brutally honest. Things must change, and quickly—for the sake of our country and our warfighters.”
― Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free

“Service to one’s country does give you tremendous perspective what is at stake should we lose the freedom we have. Because in terms of freedom, America is the last, best hope on Earth. -- Captain (Ret.) Sean Parnell, US Army in "Modern Warriors”
― Pete Hegseth, Modern Warriors: Real Stories from Real Heroes