Mark Twain on Patriotism
1835–1910 United States
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3 quotes
The soul and substance of what customarily ranks as patriotism is moral cowardice — and always has been.
"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot"
Mark Twain's Notebook (1935)
I would throw out the old maxim, ‘My country, right or wrong,’ etc., and instead I would say, ‘My country when she is right.’ Because patriotism is supporting your country all the time, but your government only when it deserves it.
Address to the Male Teachers Association of the City of New York (1901)