29 July
A lesson in history
I would like to pay homage to a quote by a former president, of whose politics I am unaware. But he sums up in the following how I feel about our country and its leader:
“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.” — President Theodore Roosevelt
Discuss:
Tags: country, history, president, quote, Teddy Roosevelt
July 29th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Oh absolutely. What a fantastic quote!
July 29th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Good quote, and very true. That’s why it’s good that we have checks and balances in our government that keep a president from having too much power.
July 29th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
I very much agree. The President, or Prime Minister or whatever, is not the country itself. Merely the person charged, for a short time, with its well being.
If they don’t carry out that charge they must be opposed.
August 1st, 2008 at 8:44 am
I agree with this sentiment. I have a great distaste for the idea that speaking out against a president is somehow unpatriotic. Leaders must be held accountable for their actions, not followed blindly. Those who voice dissent often do so because of their own love for their country, and what they perceive as the mishandling of leadership, not because they’re America-hating malcontents.