This phrase appears to have originated in the 3rd Century BC in Greek. It also has many different variants. My favorite was one by Shakespeare in Loves Labours Lost 1588 : "Good Lord Boyet, my beauty, though but mean, Needs not the painted flourish of your praise: Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye, Not utter'd by base sale of chapmen's tongues" Check out the source for a more detailed explanation.
I thought it was pretty interesting.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.