Samuel Johnson's saying that patriotism is the last refuge of
scoundrels has some truth in it, but not nearly enough.
Patriotism, in truth, is the great nursery of scoundrels, and its
annual output is probably greater than that of even religion. Its
chief glories are the demagogue, the military bully, and the
spreaders of libels and false history. Its philosophy rests firmly
on the doctrine that the end justifies the means -- that any blow,
whether above or below the belt, is fair against dissenters from
its wholesale denial of plain facts.
-- H.L. Mencken
It seems like the less a statesman amounts to, the more he loves the
flag.
No one man nor group of men incapable of fighting or exempt
from fighting should in any way be given the power, no
matter how gradually it is given them, to put this country
or any country into war.
The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of
the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary
prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. But both are the
refuge of political and economic opportunists.
-- Ernest Hemingway from "Notes on the Next War"
in American Points of View 1936
"Nobody, but nobody, should ever deface the American flag. I don't
give a damn whether it's [the protester's] civil right or not. I
fought to protect the American flag, not to protect him."
-- American Legion member Charles Inglis of Houston, who
fought in both World War II and Korea (quoted in
Newsweek, July 3, 1989, page 18).
The military-industrial complexers and retread Kelvinator salesmen
who own and run the networks know that jingoism sells. The last
time we had a major hostage crisis, the networks did the Iranians'
job for them: as ratings soared, TV whipped the country into an
almost religious fervor, pushing Jimmy Carter into a military
adventure whose predictable failure cost him the presidency and
eight servicemen their lives. In the process, Nightline was born.
-- Doug Ireland, Village Voice 8/15/89.
In the final analysis, it is the Constitution — not the flag —
that is
the foundation and guarantor of the people's liberties. Respect for that
Constitution should not be undermined by amendments, however well
intentioned, that cannot be enforced.
-- Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia on the occasion
of switching his vote and voting against the proposed flag desecration
constitutional amendment.
The amendment failed by a vote of 63 to 37, four votes shy of the
two-thirds necessary to send the proposal to the states. March, 2000.