Quotations on Patriotism
"I do not mean to exclude altogether the idea of patriotism. I know it exists, and I know it has done much in the present contest. But I will venture to assert, that a great and lasting war can never be supported on this principle alone. It must be aided by a prospect of interest, or some reward."
-George Washington. Letter, April 21, 1778.
"True patriotism sometimes requires of men to act exactly contrary, at one period, to that which it does at another, and the motive which impels them—-the desire to do right—-is precisely the same."
-Robert E. Lee, letter to General P. G. T. Beauregard, October 3, 1865
There seems no reason why patriotism and narrowness should go together, or why intellectual fairmindedness should be confounded with political trimming,* or why serviceable truth should keep cloistered because not partisan.+
-Herman Melville (1819–1891)
*trimming= opportunism
+i.e. truth should not be hidden away just because it does not support the American cause.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."
-Mark Twain
"How much longer are we going to think it necessary to be 'American' before (or in contradistinction to) being cultivated, being enlightened, being humane, & having the same intellectual discipline as other civilized countries? It is really too easy a disguise for our shortcomings to dress them up as a form of patriotism!"
-Edith Wharton
"My patriotism is not an exclusive thing. It is all-embracing and I should reject that patriotism which sought to mount the distress or exploitation of other nationalities."
-Mohandas K. Gandhi
"I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of national responsibility which will enable America to remain master of her power—-to walk with it in serenity and wisdom, with self-respect and the respect of all mankind; a patriotism that puts country ahead of self; a patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. These are words that are easy to utter, but this is a mighty assignment. For it is often easier to fight for principles than to live up to them."
- Adlai Stevenson
"We do not consider patriotism desirable if it contradicts civilized behavior."
-Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)
"It seems that American patriotism measures itself against an outcast group. The right Americans are the right Americans because they’re not like the wrong Americans, who are not really Americans." -
-Eric J. Hobsbawm
"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."
-Howard Zinn
posted by Juan Cole @ 7/04/2008 12:05:00 AM
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13 Comments:
For me, the important thing is how to behave towards other nations and not how strong one's patriotism is.
The best analogy is competing in sports. Cheering for your team is fine, even when being fanatical. What is plainly wrong, however, is trying to win by cheating; tripping; and assaulting the competitors or their supporters, which is what the USA does in the world with the support of the majority of its people.
Amen!
BF.
H. L. Mencken is one of my favorites. I very much agree with his view on patriotism and dissent:
The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.
.
Thank you for such an appropriate posting on this day. I am pointing many of my acquaintances, who do not usually agree with my total aversion to this administration, to your posting for July 4.
you forgot the quote about wearing your flag lapel pin at all times, evne in the shower.
Love all the quotes, except the Zinn, which is typically fuzzy-minded. Dissent *can* be a high form of patriotism, but you can surely think of many times when it's purely a waste of breath or even worse. If we should ever be so fortunate as to give ourselves a government dedicated to ending economic exploitation and ecological planet-rape, would the squeals of Rush Limbaugh become the "highest form of patriotism"?
"My country, right or wrong" is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying "My mother, drunk or sober.
-GK Chesterton
Re Paul's 'my country, right or wrong' comment: Amen.
That's exactly how I reclaim the patriotic phrase, one that has been mis-used to infer 'my country, never wrong'.
I use it toward a motherland that often seems out of control, a superpower careening thru stop-signs in a dented auto. It's a desperate case.
For example, Sgt. Wuterich was leading 'our troops, right or wrong.' As one of ours, he is entitled to the same due process, rights and presumptions as any other citizen under indictment.
However, his leadership and unit actions in Haditha were conducted in the uniforms my Congress bought them, and under the direction of officers sworn to defend my Constitution. His legal defense against multiple charges of wartime murder is that they occurred within 'rules of engagement', under executive authority of my country. My country.
However wrong the killing of prisoners and civilians might be, his lawyer might be right. We can't be sure without knowing what the orders and secretly mutable ROE's my army issued.
My country, our troops. Especially when wrong. It's a war, a war of choice. When our troops and our country get it wrong, we do still have to continue to try and deliver justice for the victims, and the perpetrators.
The buck stops with US voters and taxpayers. We have a patriotic duty that can't be escaped thru inaction. We're not under orders.
We have choices and obligations to the kids. It's Independance Day. That's not free ride.
Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.
- George Bernard Shaw
Why I’m Not Patriotic
By Matthew Rothschild
(In memory of George Carlin.)
It’s July 4th again, a day of near-compulsory flag-waving and nation-worshipping. Count me out.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20236.htm
William Shakespeare:
Oh, it is excellent to have a giant's strength, but tyranous to use it like a giant. (Measure for Measure)
"However wrong the killing of prisoners and civilians might be, his lawyer might be right."
NO, his lawer was NOT right, see the Nuremberg's judgement. "I did it by order" is NOT an exuse.
Of course, the guilty ones there are NOT only the butchers of Haditha, but USA rulers as well
Acts of patriotism at Monticello:
'War Criminal' protestors yell at Bush
Protest of Bush at Monticello
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