Originally posted to one of the older versions of Anthurian, I think these quotes are still appropriate today. A nation’s strength must be grounded in principles of justice, education, moral integrity, and a commitment to peace.
“Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations; cultivate peace and harmony with all. Religion and Morality enjoin this conduct; and can it be, that good policy does not equally enjoin it?“
George Washington
“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.“
Thomas Jefferson
“When a whole nation is roaring Patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and purity of its heart.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“In other words, when…a whole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law, I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize. What makes this duty the more urgent is the fact that the country so overrun is not our own, but ours is the invading army.”
Henry David Thoreau
“All of us have heard this term ‘preventative war’ since the earliest days of Hitler. I recall that is about the first time I heard it. In this day and time…I don’t believe there is such a thing; and, frankly, I wouldn’t even listen to anyone seriously that came in and talked about such a thing.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
George Washington stresses the importance of good faith, justice, and peaceful relations with all nations as both a moral duty and a sound policy. Thomas Jefferson warns that freedom cannot survive amid ignorance — education and enlightenment are essential for a civilized society. Ralph Waldo Emerson questions the sincerity of loud displays of patriotism, urging deeper scrutiny of a nation’s true character. Henry David Thoreau pushes further, asserting that when a nation becomes the aggressor, it is the moral responsibility of individuals to resist and oppose injustice, even against their own government. Finally, Dwight D. Eisenhower cautions against the idea of “preventative war,” equating it with dangerous precedents set by tyrannies of the past. Together, these voices emphasize that true patriotism is not blind loyalty, but a vigilant commitment to justice, knowledge, and peace.