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July 19th, 1998. "Nationalism & Patriotism." "Truth is the same for each of us; but every nation has its own lie, which it calls its idealism; every creature therein breathes it from birth to death; it has become the condition of life; there are only a few men of genius who can break from it through heroic moments of crisis, when they are alone in the free world of their thoughts."1 "Patriotism is as fierce as a fever, pitiless as the grave, blind as a stone and as irrational as a headless hen."2 "Johnson suddenly uttered an apophthegm, at which many will start: Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."3 "To mind your own business and do the square thing with your neighbors is an extremely high order of patriotism. If every man were to do this, flags, governments, powers, dominations and thrones might all take an indefinite vacation."4 _______________________________ FOOTNOTES: [1] From Romain Rolland's Jean-Christophe. [2] Ambrose Bierce, see O'Connor's biography p. 238. [3] Boswell, 1791. [4] Rudyard Kipling's "Puck" (Puck of Pook's Hill). [Top] [Archives] [To Blupete's Essays] [Thoughts & Quotes of blupete] [Home] Peter Landry July, 1998 (2019)