“Patriotism is best exemplified through auto-critique.”
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.
“Can anything be stupider than that a man has the right to kill me because he lives on the other side of a river and his ruler has a quarrel with mine, though I have not quarrelled with him?”
“Patriotism is best exemplified through auto-critique.”
“Well, the post office is probably not the place you want to go if you want to be infused with patriotism and a renewed sense of vigor.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Can anything be stupider than that a man has the right to kill me because he lives on the other side of a river and his ruler has a quarrel with mine, though I have not quarrelled with him?”
“True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.”
“The heights of popularity and patriotism are still the beaten road to power and tyranny.”
“Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all others because you were born in it.”
“Each nation feels superior to other nations. That breeds patriotism - and wars.”
“Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism - how passionately I hate them!”
“You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it.”
“There is no patriotic obligation to help advance the career of a politician who is otherwise pursuing interests that are fundamentally antithetical to your values. That's not the call of patriotism.”
“A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works.”
“Patriotism is an ephemeral motive that scarcely ever outlasts the particular threat to society that aroused it.”
“Some versions of patriotism come close to the tribal, which we all want to surpass, and some don't.”