E. M. Forster on patriotism

A humanist has four leading characteristics — curiosity, a free mind, belief in good taste, and belief in the human race.

Adventures do occur, but not punctually.

Long books, when read, are usually overpraised, because the reader wants to convince others and himself that he has not wasted his time.

Ask not what your country can do for you⁠—ask what you can do for your country.

John F. Kennedy1917–1963John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address (1961)

‘My country, right or wrong’ is a thing that no patriot would think of saying, except in a desperate case. It is like saying, ‘My mother, drunk or sober’.

G. K. Chesterton1874–1936The Defendant (1901), “A Defence of Patriotism”

Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious.

Oscar Wilde1854–1900