Patriotism, War, & Politics

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which It stands, One Nation Under God, with Liberty and Justice for All. (James B. Upham and F. M. Bellamy)

Intellectually I know that America is no better than any other country; emotionally, I know she is better than every other country. (Sinclair Lewis)

America is a country that doesn't know where it is going but is determined to set a speed record getting there. (Lawrence J. Peter)

The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good my religion. (Thomas Paine)

I fear that all I have done is awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve. (Admiral Yamamoto after Pearl Harbor, Dec 7, 1941)

We will not give in to terrorists; we will not rest until they are found and defeated; we will win this struggle. Not for glory, nor wealth, nor power, but for justice, for freedom, and for peace; so help us God. (Tom Harkin)

We must all hang together, or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately. (Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence)

America and England: and may they never have any division but the Atlantic between them. (Charles Dickens)

As for those that carried out these attacks there are no adequate words of condemnation. Their barbarism will stand as their shame for all eternity. (British Prime Minister Tony Blair, on 9-11)

Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. (John F. Kennedy)

America - half-brother of the world! - with something good and bad of every land. (Philip Bayley)

Being in politics is like being a football coach; you have to be smart enough to understand the game, and dumb enough to think it's important. (Eugene McCarthy)

Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind. (John Fitzgerald Kennedy)

Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that gets all the publicity. But then, we elected them. (Lily Tomlin)

Democracy does not guarantee equality of conditions - it only guarantees equality of opportunity. (Irving Kristol)

The worst thing in this world, next to anarchy, is government. (Henry Ward Beecher)

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except all those others that have been tried from time to time. (Sir Winston Churchill)

No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent. (Abraham Lincoln)

When government accepts responsibility for people, then people no longer take responsibility for themselves. (George Pataki)

We, therefore, here in Britain, stand shoulder to shoulder with our American friends in this hour of tragedy, and we, like them, will not rest until this evil is driven from our world (Tony Blair)

The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war. (Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit)

Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly, and for the same reason.

Being President is like running a cemetary; you've got a lot of people under you, and nobody's listening. (Bill Clinton)

We have a presidential election coming up. And I think the big problem, of course, it that someone will win. (Barry Crimmins)

In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman. (Margaret Thatcher)

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. (Thomas Jefferson, US Declaration of Independence)

Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend. (Margaret Thatcher)

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. (Bishop Desmond Tutu)

Patriotism is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. (Adlai E. Stevenson)

Any American who is prepared to run for president should automatically, by definition, be disqualified from ever doing so. (Gore Vidal)

The real differences around the world today are not between Jews and Arabs; Protestants and Catholics; Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. The differences are between those who embrace peace and those who would destroy it; between those who look to the future and those who cling to the past; between those who open their arms and those who are determined to clench their fists. (William J. Clinton)

It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it. (Eleanor Roosevelt)

Peace begins with a smile. (Mother Teresa)

Politics, it seems to me, for all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong. (Richard Armour)

Those who stand for nothing fall for anything. (Alexander Hamilton)

Politics, n: Poly "many" + tics "blood-sucking parasites" (Larry Hardiman)

Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half. (Gore Vidal)

Voters don't decide issues, they decide who will decide issues. (George F. Will)

You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake. (Jeannette Rankin)

The trouble with America is that there are far too many wide-open spaces surrounded by teeth. (Charles Luckman)

You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom. (Malcolm X)

One is left with the horrible feeling now that war settles nothing; that to win a war settles nothing; that to win a war is as disastrous as to lose one. (Agatha Christie)

Freedom is not the right to do as you please but the liberty to do as you ought.

The worst thing about history is that every time it repeats itself, the prices go up.

I believe God is deeply saddened by [the events of September 11], just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and protection if we demand He leave us alone? (Anne Graham, daughter of Billy Graham)

Obey the rulers who have authority over you.... People who oppose the authorities are opposing what God has done.... (Romans 13:1-2)

Koran (9:11) - For it is written that a son of Arabia would awaken a fearsome Eagle. The wrath of the Eagle would be felt throughout the lands of Allah and lo, while some of the people trembled in despair still more rejoiced; for the wrath of the Eagle cleansed the lands of Allah; and there was peace.

To be prepared for war is one of the most effectual means of preserving peace. (George Washington)

One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one nation, evermore! (O. W. Holmes)

Out where the handclasp's a little stronger,

Out where the smile dwells a little longer,

That's where the West begins.

(Arthur Chapman, "Out Where the West Begins")

I believe it is my duty to my Country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws; to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies. (William Tyler Page)

Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens. (Daniel Webster)

Government cannot make us equal; it can only recognize, respect, and protect us as equal before the law. (Clarence Thomas)

Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers. (John Jay, the first Supreme Court Justice)

The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve, nor will he ever receive, either. (Benjamin Franklin)

That government is best which governs least. (Henry David Thoreau)

Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first. (Charles de Gaulle)

Elections are won by men and women chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody. (Franklin P. Adams)

When a dog barks at the the moon, then it is religion; but when he barks at strangers, it is patriotism! (David Starr Jordan)

The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the the home. (Confucious)

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains or slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take but as for me; give me liberty or give me death! (Patrick Henry)

Patriotism is in political life what faith is in religion. (John Dalberg Acton)

A visitor from the Netherlands was chatting with his American friend and was jokingly explaining about the red, white and blue in the Netherlands flag. "Our flag symbolizes our taxes," he said. "We get red when we talk about them, white when we get our tax bill, and blue after we pay them." "That's the same with us," the American said, "only we see stars, too."

God bless America. Let's not forget that her greatness is not in her intellectualism, technology, or natural resources, but in her people. (Andy Horner, founder of Premier Designs)

It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. (Patrick Henry)

When you're born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you're born in America, you get a front row seat. (George Carlin)

It's not the voting that's democracy, it's the counting. (Tom Stoppard)

If the Government is big enough to give you everything you want, it is big enough to take away everything you have. (Gerald Ford)

War makes rattling good history; but Peace is poor reading. (Thomas Hardy)

You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has freedom. (Malcolm X)

*Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.*
Let him who desires peace, prepare for war.
(Vegetius)

A statesman is a politician who places himself at the service of the nation. A politician is a statesman who places the nation at his service. (Georges Pompidou)