True Patriotism Quotes

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  True patriotism hates injustice in its own land more than anywhere else.

  Clarence Darrow

  Memorial Day, Peace, Hate

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  Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president.

  Theodore Roosevelt

  Country, Peace, War

  Theodore Roosevelt (2015). “Theodore Roosevelt on Bravery: Lessons from the Most Courageous Leader of the Twentieth Century”, p.42, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

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• True patriotism springs from a belief in the dignity of the individual, freedom and equality not only for Americans but for all people on earth, universal brotherhood and good will, and a constant and earnest striving toward the principles and ideals on which this country was founded.

  Eleanor Roosevelt

  Country, Spring, Patriotic

  Eleanor Roosevelt (1962). “Book of common sense etiquette”

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• Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the government when it deserves it.

  Mark Twain

  Loyalty, Country, Peace

  Mark Twain (2014). “Mark Twain on Common Sense: Timeless Advice and Words of Wisdom from America's Most-Revered Humorist”, p.17, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

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• I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed; We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal

  Martin Luther King, Jr.

  Inspirational, Motivational, Dream

  Speech at Civil Rights March in Washington, 28 Aug. 1963, in New York Times 29 Aug. 1963, p. 21

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• True patriotism doesn't exclude an understanding of the patriotism of others.

  Queen Elizabeth II

  Understanding, Patriotism

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• The highest patriotism is not a blind acceptance of official policy, but a love of one's country deep enough to call her to a higher plain.

  George McGovern

  Love, Country, Memorial Day

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• Surely, if it is the right of the people to "alter or abolish," it is their right to criticize, even severely, policies they believe destructive of the ends for which government has been established. This principle, in the Declaration of Independence, suggests that true patriotism lies in supporting the values the country is supposed to cherish: equality, life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness. When our government compromises, undermines, or attacks those values, it is being unpatriotic.

  Howard Zinn

  Country, Lying, Believe

  Howard Zinn (2013). “A Power Governments Cannot Suppress”, p.112, City Lights Books

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• Our country ... when right, to be kept right. When wrong, to be put right.

  Carl Schurz

  Country, Patriotic, Patriotism

  Speech, US Senate, 1872.

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• No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots.

  Barbara Ehrenreich

  Peace, War, Patriotic

  Barbara Ehrenreich (1990). “WORST YEARS OF OUR LIVES”, Pantheon

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• True patriotism is a charity so wide that it covers a nation.

  Austin O'Malley

  Charity, Nations, Wide

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• But whether the resistance against government tyrants is non-violent or physically violent, the effort to overthrow state oppression qualifies as true patriotism.

  Ron Paul

  Tyrants, Government, Effort

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• True patriotism isn't cheap. It's about taking on a fair share of the burden of keeping America going.

  Robert Reich

  Memorial Day, America, Remembrance

  Robert Reich (2017). “Economics in Wonderland: Robert Reich's Cartoon Guide to a Political World Gone Mad and Mean”, p.50, Fantagraphics Books

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• The very idea of true patriotism is lost, and the term has been prostituted to the very worst of purposes. A patriot, sir! Why, patriots spring up like mushrooms!

  Robert Walpole

  Spring, Mushrooms, Ideas

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• 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.

  Arthur C. Clarke

  Stars, Patriotic, Men

  "The Exploration of Space". Book by Arthur C. Clarke, 1951.

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• True patriotism sometimes requires of men to act exactly contrary, at one period, to that which it does at another, and the motive which impels them the desire to do right is precisely the same.

  Robert E. Lee

  Men, Patriotism, Desire

  Letter to General P.G.T. Beauregard, October 03, 1865.

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• Be Briton still to Britain true,
  Among oursel's united;
  For never but by British hands
  Maun British wrangs be righted.

  Robert Burns

  Hands, Patriotism, British

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• I confidently trust that the American people will prove themselves ... too wise not to detect the false pride or the dangerous ambitions or the selfish schemes which so often hide themselves under that deceptive cry of mock patriotism: "Our country, right or wrong!" They will not fail to recognize that our dignity, our free institutions and the peace and welfare of this and coming generations of Americans will be secure only as we cling to the watchword of true patriotism: "Our country - when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right."

  Carl Schurz

  Wise, Country, Selfish

  Speech expanding upon his famous statement in the Senate many years before, at the Anti-Imperialistic Conference, Chicago, Illinois, October 17, 1899.

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• Remember this, take this to heart, live by it, die for it if necessary: that our patriotism is medieval, outworn, obsolete; that the modern patriotism, the true patriotism, the only rational patriotism, is loyalty to the Nation ALL the time, loyalty to the Government when it deserves it.

  Mark Twain

  Loyalty, Heart, Government

  Mark Twain, Charles Neider (1961). “Life as I find it [by] Mark Twain [pseud.] Essays, sketches, tales, and other material, the majority of which is now published in book form for the first time: edited, with an introd. and notes”

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• You know, the truth is that right after 9/11, I had a (flag) pin. Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we're talking about the Iraq war, that became a substitute for, I think, true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security, I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest.

  Barack Obama

  War, Thinking, Talking

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• The real need of the day is moral and spiritual rearmament. God's Living Spirit can transcend conflicting political systems, can reconcile order and freedom, can rekindle true patriotism, can unite all citizens in the service of the nation, and all nations in the service of mankind.

  Stanley Baldwin

  Spiritual, Real, Order

  The Times, September 10, 1938.

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• I know no better way to show true patriotism and love for one's country, than investing to create wealth and employment.

  Strive Masiyiwa

  Country, And Love, Employment

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• True patriotism is not worship of our nation but rather, in the light of our worship of the God of justice, to conform our nation's ways of justice.

  Robert McAfee Brown

  Light, Justice, Patriotism

  Robert McAfee Brown (1984). “Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes”, p.159, Westminster John Knox Press

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• There are no points of the compass on the chart of true patriotism.

  Robert Charles Winthrop

  Memorial Day, Military, Patriotism

  Letter to Boston Commercial Club, 1879.

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• I don't want to see the military falling. I want to see the military rising to dignified heights of professionalism and true patriotism.

  Aung San Suu Kyi

  Military, Fall, Passion

  "Freed Myanmar Activist: Fight For Human Rights Continues". Interview with Michel Martin, www.npr.org. November 15, 2010.

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