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.
It is a general rule of human nature that people despise those who treat them well, and look up to those who make no concessions.
Eddie discovered one of his childhood's great truths. Grownups are the real monsters, he thought.
Wars will remain while human nature remains. I believe in my soul in cooperation, in arbitration; but the soldier's occupation we cannot say is gone until human nature is gone.
Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
Thinking is no more than a tiny aspect of the totality of consciousness, the totality of who you are.
The world is full of people who are determined to be somebody or to give trouble. They want to get ahead, to stand out. Such ambition has no use for a gung fu man, who rejects all forms of self-assertiveness and competition
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