I was always embarrassed by the words sacred, glorious and sacrifice and the expression in vain. We had heard them, sometimes standing in the rain almost out of earshot, so that only the shouted words came through, and had read them, on proclamations that were slapped up by billposters over other proclamations, now for a long time, and I had seen nothing sacred, and the things that were glorious had no glory and the sacrifices were like the stockyards at Chicago if nothing was done with the meat except to bury it.

Summary

This quote expresses the speaker's disillusionment with the language surrounding patriotism and war. They are embarrassed by words like "sacred," "glorious," and "sacrifice" because they have witnessed the reality behind them. The speaker has heard and read these words, but they have seen no evidence of their true meaning. The notion of sacredness holds no weight, glorious things lack any actual glory, and sacrifices made in the name of war are wasted. The analogy of the stockyards at Chicago suggests that the sacrifices are simply discarded or forgotten without any purposeful action being taken.