My country right or wrong; when right, to keep her right; when wrong, to put her right.
Carl SchurzRead
Tis not, 'my country right or wrong'; tis, 'my country, that which is right to be kept right, that which is wrong to be set right'
Interpretation
Patriotism should be guided by a moral compass, striving to correct wrongs rather than blindly supporting your country.
This quote emphasizes the idea that true patriotism is not about unconditionally supporting one's country, but rather about actively promoting justice and righteousness. It advocates for a critical approach to national loyalty, where one recognizes faults and seeks to correct them rather than overlooking them in a misguided sense of loyalty.
In practice
This quote could be used in a speech about civic responsibility during a political rally.
Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!
My people have a country of their own to go to if they choose... Africa... but, this America belongs to them just as much as it does to any of the white race... in some ways even more so, because they gave the sweat of their brow and their blood in slavery so that many parts of America could become prosperous and recognized in the world.
Today, we need a Church capable of walking at people's side, of doing more than simply listening to them; a Church which accompanies them on their journey.
Tolerance and freedom of thought are the veritable antidotes to religious fanaticism.
For, the sense of being which in calm hours rises, we know not how, in the soul, is not diverse from things, from space, from light, from time, from man, but one with them, and proceeds obviously from the same source whence their life and being also proceed. We first share the life by which things exist, and afterwards see them as appearances in nature, and forget that we have shared their cause. Here is the fountain of action and of thought.
If a poor family falls on hard times in the woods, and no one is around to care, did it really happen?
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.