Quotations on Patriotism

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:

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“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

 

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“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it.”

                                                                      Mark Twain

 

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“Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.”

                                                                      George Washington