“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”
Patriotism at its best is love of country paired with the courage to make it better. These quotes explore national pride, civic duty, dissent, and the difference between blind loyalty and the kind of patriotism that demands accountability.
“Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.”
“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”
“You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong no matter who does it or who says it.”
“Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.”
“It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars.”
“Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles.”
“There is a fuzzy but real distinction that can and I believe should be made, between patriotism, which is attachment to a way of life, and nationalism, which is the insistence that your way of life deserves to rule over other ways of life.”
“To me, it seems a dreadful indignity to have a soul controlled by geography.”
“Most Italians who came to this country are very patriotic. There was this exciting possibility that if you worked real hard, and you loved something, you could become successful.”
“In every society in human history, including the United States, those in power seek to imbue themselves with the attributes of religion and patriotism as a way of getting greater support for their policy and insulating themselves from any criticism.”
“Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.”
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”
“They are patriotic in time of war because it is to their interest to be so, but in time of peace they follow power and the dollar wherever they may lead.”
“Each nation feels superior to other nations. That breeds patriotism - and wars.”
“Unfortunately, after Sept. 11, there was an outburst in America of intense suffering and patriotism, and the Bush administration was very shrewd and effective in painting anyone who disagreed with the policies as unpatriotic or even traitorous.”
“Liberals become indignant when you question their patriotism, but simultaneously work overtime to give terrorists a cushion for the next attack and laugh at dumb Americans who love their country and hate the enemy.”