#patriot

These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in the crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. ↗

— Thomas Paine

#patriotism #trials #love

The essence of America – that which really unites us — is not ethnicity, or nationality or religion – it is an idea — and what an idea it is: That you can come from humble circumstances and do great things. That it doesn’t matter where you came from but where you are going. ↗

— Condoleezza Rice

#patriotic #speech #inspirational

I love my country, not my government. ↗

— Jesse Ventura

#bill-of-rights #constitution #despotism #freedom #government

[Large countries'] patriotism is different: they are buoyed by their glory, their importance, their universal mission. The Czechs loved their country not because it was glorious but because it was unknown; not because it was big but because it was small and in constant danger. Their patriotism was an enormous compassion for their country. ↗

— Milan Kundera

#patriotism #love

I hate the world and almost all the people in it. I hate the Labour Congress and the journalists who send men to be slaughtered, and the fathers who feel a smug pride when their sons are killed, and even the pacifists who keep saying human nature is essentially good, in spite of all the daily proofs to the contrary. I hate the planet and the human race—I am ashamed to belong to such a species. ↗

— Bertrand Russell

#pacifists #patriotism #war #men

Japanese people today think of money, just money: Where is our national spirit today? The Jieitai must be the soul of Japan. … The nation has no spiritual foundation. That is why you don’t agree with me. You will just be American mercenaries. There you are in your tiny world. You do nothing for Japan. … I salute the Emperor. Long live the emperor! ↗

— Yukio Mishima

#money #national-spirit #nihilism #patriotism #spirituality

The last time I heard an orthodox Marxist statement that was music to my ears was from a member of the Rwanda Patriotic Front, during the mass slaughter in the country. 'The terms Hutu and Tutsi,' he said severely, 'are merely ideological constructs, describing different relationships to the means and mode of production.' But of course! ↗

— Christopher Hitchens

#ideology #marxism #rwanda #rwandan-genocide #rwandan-patriotic-front

Patriotism ... is a superstition artificially created and maintained through a network of lies and falsehoods; a superstition that robs man of his self-respect and dignity, and increases his arrogance and conceit. ↗

— Emma Goldman

#emma-goldman #patriotism #superstition #respect

It is not always the same thing to be a good man and a good citizen. ↗

— Aristotle

#civil-disobedience #good #patriotism #value #virtue

A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. ↗

— Edward Abbey

#always #country #defend #government #his