I won't make a habit of quoting lit, but...

I need your answer before I turn into air. Answer me why we did it. Why we let ourselves be led to extermination? In the end, we were not led, we led ourselves. We claimed we would die for each other in battle. To fulfil that claim we marched into the battle that killed us all. That is not loyalty. That is not love. That is hate. Deepest hate. Hate for one's self.
(Frank McGuinness, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching towards the Somme)
Which is probably the best play ever written, and still moves me to tears after dozens of readings...