It seems appropriate in these times of turmoil, in which terms like patriotism are thrown around easily, to put up some quotations about it. After reading Trump’s so-called joke about hoping for a President for life in the United States, I am compelled to point out that when he took the oath of office, among what he promised was, “. . . I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.” (The emphasis is mine.) This is a sacred duty, and it must never been made a butt of jokes, nor must any President make claims to want to be “President for life.” Anyone who does that is not patriotic, and any American who is patriotic should be offended. My parents’ generation fought a horrific world war to protect freedom. We must not let it go by, and we should not ignore threats to our freedom.
I will let more eloquent than I speak to this:
“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”
Theodore Roosevelt
“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it.”
Mark Twain
Excellent quotes, Charles. I find it really frightening to know that the president of the US is making “jokes” like that. We have presidents for life here in Africa and it is a terrible thing as it ends any pretense at democracy.
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Yes, it is terrifying!
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All wonderful and so apropo!
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Thank you!
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Reblogged this on K. D. Dowdall and commented:
Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and George Washington, gave us a warning about imposters who do not have patriotism at heart, but instead, a goal to be a supreme ruler that stamps out democracy under their feet. Thank you Charles for these patriotic truths.
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You are very welcome, and it is time to speak out.
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reblogged this on Pen and Paper.
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Thank you so much!
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Perfectly said Charles. I especially liked the quote by Theodore Roosevelt.
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Yes! I completely agree.
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Reblogged this on By Hook Or By Book and commented:
This post from Charles is important given Mr. Trump’s “joke” about wanting to be president for life. Out of all the things that have come out of his mouth, this is the scariest.
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Thank you for the reblogging, and I agree with you completely.
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This is a great post Charles.
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Thank you so much!
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Mark Twain had the right of it Charles. I’d be willing to bet Trump wasn’t joking as much as he was sounding out any possibility of support from his dwindling devotees in the Republican party.
Hugs
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Unfortunately, I believe you are correct.
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Indeed! I actually had an argument with a friend of mine a couple days ago about patriotism. Neither of us support Lord Commander Marmalade, but she said she was feeling guilty for not supporting the president of the U.S. because it was “unpatriotic”.
Why would it be patriotic to support a man who is using this country for personal benefit and is going to leave it worse off than he found it? If you love this country, hate the man, speak up against him, and take action! That’s patriotism.
This is the first I’ve heard of his “joke”, I’ve been unplugged for a bit, and that is scarier still.
Thank you for the great post, for being a true patriot, and speaking up.
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You are very welcome! And it is important for all of us to speak up.
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I’m pretty a-political especially on my own blog and others, but I could not agree with you more. I serve the Constitution,,,which is different than the government. Nuff said on this by me, but thank you for having the courage to bring this up. Not more from me on politics, but I silently stand in vigil!
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You are very welcome.
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Wish we had a leader with less room in the cranium and more sense of decorum.
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So do I.
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Patriotism is important, but also the courage to stand against what others (the “mob”, the “populists”, etc) are screaming must be done. It is vital to have your grounded values and to act in accordance with them.
I’m thinking of “Profiles In Courage”, a book written by a previous incumbent of the Oval Office, JFK, and I proudly have a well-worn copy at home. There are lessons from history in this book thatwe’d be wise to be aware of in these turbulent times.
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I agree with you!
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Well done.
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thank you!
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I check the news every morning to see if they have flushed the last of this whole insane lot down the drain yet. I agree with the quotes on Patriotism. Since China just “voted” to keep their leader in permanently, (as a dictator) because they are afraid to oust him, our nut ball was hoping for the same luxury. I’m still trying to understand why so many countries have insane leaders? How the heck did this one get there? Are too many of us ideologically stunted? Sorry for the rant.
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No need to apologize–I agree with you.
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I like all three quotes, but the one by Roosevelt is my favourite … it seems as if it were written with Trump in mind! Excellent choices!
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Thank you!
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Great quotes to fight the misappropriation of terms and definitions! Thank you!
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You are very welcome!
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Reblogged this on Kismet.
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thank you!
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Reblogging on Kismet!
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Thank you!
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“Patriot: the one who can holler the loudest while not knowing what he is hollering about.” Mark Twain
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This one is excellent!
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