"You can't say you love your country and hate your government."
by:
Bill Clinton
[William Jefferson Blythe III] (1946- ), 42nd US President
Source:
1995 (After the OKC bombing)
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Reader comments about this quote:
Yes, Bill ... you can!
 -- Joel, Rochester, MI     
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    No, you can't. Our country is based on government. If it wasn't for American Federalism, we wouldn't be as strong of a country. If you don't like the government, you don't like the country.
     -- Jaimie, Indianapolis     
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    You might love your country, but not like what it's people have become-then what do you say? What if the government does something you can't stomach? What if the people in government are hypocrites? It is ironic that the very president that pushed laws through (Sexual Harassment Laws) then is charged with violating them? Nice try Paula Jones!
     -- Jim, Salt Lake City     
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     -- Anonymous      
    Of course you can...
     -- A.Jurgensen, Stuart, FL     
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    Over half of America currently hates its government precisely because it passionately loves its country. Sorry, President Clinton, you've got this one wrong, real wrong. In fact, I'm shocked this one came from you. wam
     -- Anonymous, New York, NY     
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    One may love this country, its people, its diversity, its carrying (Katrina is an excellent example; there was much more church and otherwise private help given than government), its landscape, and the original representative Republic with Constitution for which it stood. To say one loves the current government is to say he loves the murder of innocent people by planes crashing into buildings. The de-facto democratic oligarchy that now inflicts geographic U. S. A. is a blight on the country.
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    Isn't this interesting? The situation during the 60's was exactlly this, and we're repeating it again now. Let's just hope that enuf people hate it that they will change it using the good means that we have, and not have to resort to violence.
     -- Senor Reek, Heartland, USA     
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    I respect and agree with most of what this man did in his business life (his personal life is clearly a mess, but I can separate my views on these two sides of the man). However, he is 100% wrong on this one. This is best evidenced by the fact the extreme polarization we see in politics today... and our government is all about politics, not just its idealized format, but its everyday working reality. I am puzzled though by the comments above that seem to be 100% against this post and then give it a strong positive rating, seems that the posters here are as confused as the electorate in general... perhaps they are from Florida...
     -- Anonymous, Reston, VA US     
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    I hate political power (law).....that is what our government has become.
     -- Kathy, Pennsylvania     
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    I love my country but hate the way so many politicians place the importance of their political power ahead of the success of the citizens they are supposed to serve. Catering to voting blocks by keeping them stirred up, dependent on government, shackled in poverty and focused on their victim status instead of motivating them to succeed is so selfish it is sickening. It is this selfishness that one day could be the downfall of our great democracy.
     -- Bob Fisher, New Castle, IN     
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    The man does have a way with words, and the words reveal the man. To him, and unfortunately many others, there is no separation between the Federal Govenment and the country. The facts are quite to the contrary--we are the united STATES (see 10th Amendment)--it is the Contstitution that is the source of who and what we are....unfortunately, the idea of Government has been merged with the Constitution and they are not one and the same. The Constitution GOVERNS the Government....and makes us a GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE AND FOR THE PEOPLE.
     -- Michael , Houston, TX     
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     -- Anonymous      
    I think you can say little else. Willy never missed a chance to take a swipe at the constitution.
     -- Bob, Eugene, OR     
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    May God have mercy on our country if Hillary is elected.
     -- Anonymous     
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    If you love Freedom, and the government uses the collective power you have given it against you and against the very purposes of the agreement, then not only is that a government I hate but a government that must be stopped. The problem today is that the Democrats and Republicans are both Federalist parties, and there is no Democratic-Republican party to balance it. The result is globalism under phony banners. There has not been a president in my life time that has not furthered this new world order agenda, and throughout my life the press, the schools, the nuns, and the cops have been the biggest promoters. Imperialism is alive and well in America -- and because we are ignorant about it, we make the best tools for our feudal lords. I absolutely despise the practice of hypocrisy. The Founders must be rolling in their graves.
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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    No debate required. The system of government is not the same as THE government. One is imperfect. The other is abominable.
     -- David L. Rosenthal     
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    Some really fine Quotes. I really like the new "Joke Quote Section" This newest Clintoon Quote had me in stiches.. He is one of the best comics out there a real Class Clown. It rates a 5 Soupy Sales Stars with out a doubt.
     -- LT Bill (not related) "Praise be to God", New York     
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     -- Logan, Memphis, TN      
     -- P.M.      
    I think that we as a nation should be on our faces before almighty God. Our government has broken God's laws (especially His Ten Commandments) so grievously and so often, not to mention our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Here is a quote from God's Holy Scriptures through the Apostle Paul: "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled with the yoke of bondage." Galatians 5:1
     -- Alan Hagerman (Veteran), Wellsboro, PA     
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    Puppets have to do and say what their puppeteers tell them. He's wrong and so are the puppeteers who are controlling this planet at this time. Times are about to change for the better of mankind.
     -- N/A, southern rebel     
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    "Bill - the one who said I did not have sex with that woman" - It all depends on how you define "Love" and "Hate". As I understand the words, you can certanily love your country and be very critical of, and maybe "hate" the government made up of self-serving politicians and bureaucrats. They are the same animal with only the one being elected.
     -- Jim, Burbank     
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    Bill Clinton proves once agian he is an idiot. But then, we knew that already. How anyone can say they repsect what he did in his business life is beyond ridiculuos. A life long communist politican is not something I admire or suggest anyone aspire to be.
     -- Bill, hoboken     
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    He's a very confused idiot...
     -- chibiabos, Lampson     
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    You can love your country and the goverment but abhor the leaders.God have mercy on us if Hilary gets elected.
     -- a christian republican     
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    I am sick and tired of being told that if you do not agree with this administration, that you are not a patriot ack ack ack ack ack ack ack. Wait. Did my husband really say that?
     -- Hillary, Little Rock, NY     
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    I cannot be the only person who read this quote to realize that others have made the, "If you hate the government, you hate your country" correlation. Most dictators would agree with Clinton's stance on the subject. Mass graves the world over are full of people who were found "guilty" of THAT offense. He clearly learned this from his time as a "scholar" in Eastern Europe. Does this mean that he hated his country back in his youth, when he was constantly protesting national policy? Typical hypocrisy from a closet socialist who was never hosnest enough to admit what he is.
     -- Mick, Arizona     
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     -- jv      
    I have different views for this quote. First, I want to state that I strongly disagree with Bill on this one. Basically, I love my country and I do everything in my power to make it a better place. But, at the same time, I do not agree with the way the government tries to handle things, thus I do not like the government at this time.
     -- Brandy, Flint     
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    Its typical of the Big Brotherism of the Left.
     -- fm, Corpus Christi, TX     
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    Wm Jefferson Clinton needs to read a little Thomas Jefferson.
     -- Greg, Minneapolis, MN     
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    This quote is simply false.
     -- Anonymous     
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    I love the form of government (provided in the constitution) and I love the country .. but I hate what the government has turned into (self serving socialistic)
     -- patriot, freeport     
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    The American soil is being soiled by the American government and multinational non-human corporations. This is not a partisan stand that I assume, I am a human being assessing the facts as I see them. This is a place where a person without money, when faced with a disease he did not create, in a country that hasn't cured a disease since polio, must die because of the inability to afford simple tests. A citizen without insurance This is a government that hails Christian ideals, then permits usury interests of 1/3 a year. That takes
     -- Anonymous     
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    what the hell !!? ofcourse you can . Thats absurd.
     -- Rana     
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    Really? Is that what Washington and Jefferson said?
     -- Shawn McGraw, Akron, OH     
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    "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country" is not the same as "Ask not what your government can do for you, but ask what you can do for your government (i.e. Bush, Clinton, Pelosi, Reid, Blago, Edwards, etc.). Country and government are NOT the same thing.
     -- Bruno, Tampa Bay     
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    yeah, that's a dumb quote, bill. Uh... you can hate it because its a one-party system posing as a two-party system.
     -- josh, los angeles     
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    ... You are wrong Bill. Get another country and stop ruining ours.
     -- Anonymous     
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    Clinton never understood his Oxford education would make him a Roads Scholar without Atheletics and thats where he should have stayed, ON THE ROAD! Instead he became a Traitor to the Democratic Party and the United States of America, completing Ronald Reagan's deconstruction of America's economy and position of power. Mr. Clinton you are at odds with your middle name. "And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." Thomas Jefferson Got it Gulom! Swine of swine
     -- hungrywonmwe, Concord, Mass.     
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    This is bull, I am only fifteen and I realize this. It tells you what a big idiot he is. In fact if you love your country, one could argue that you must constantly correct your government. Hence, you sometimes must hate your government.
     -- Lulu, loveland     
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    This is so WRONG! Who is he? The Sun King proclaiming: “I am the state.” What is he thinking? That people who do not like him or his buddies do not love their country?
     -- Jay, Newport     
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     -- Anonymous      
    I thought the quote was bad, and then saw the author was Bill Clinton. This ideology will not stand the test of time. Country consists of more than the government; it's the culture, the landscape, the religion, the communities... This quote makes him sound like a complete tool.
     -- Anonymous, Sexytown     
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    Bill sucks.....and likes to be sucked
     -- Anonymous, 70769     
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    Billy Boy ripped this quote off from it's original author!!!!! He lacks the _____ to come up with an original. (that makes common sense anyway)
     -- George, San DIego     
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    I first read the quote and thought it to be rubbish; THEN I read the author and realized why. Of course you can love your country and hate its government. You can also love both and hate both. Government is supposed to mirror the values, sensibilities, and laws of its people. When it does not it ,must be thrown off. Unfortunately today the government DOES mirror it's people. Laws are passed that illegally inhibit the Bill of Rights because the people do not value their rights. People today seek protection over liberty, and the protection they seek is from both physical dangers and the dangers that come from learning and questioning.
     -- John, Flushing, NY     
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    It's just another statist moron conducting yet another aspect of brainwashing on the very simple minded. America was formed as a Republic recognizing the sovereignty of each state and individual. The Federal Governments job is to protect those rights, not shape or dictate them. So, it's easy to love the America that is supposed to be and even easier to despise the government that does it's best every day to erase America.
     -- J Carlton, Calgary     
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    You cannot only say you love your country and hate your government, but when necessary, you should do it loud and you should do it often.
     -- carroll price, waynesboro, georgia     
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    So by that logic, unless Germans loved the Nazis & Hitler, they didn't love Germany.

    I rest my case.

    "A patriot loves his country & its people, a nationalist loves his government & its laws.
     -- MVP, Charlotte, NC     
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    It is an absolutely brilliant quote in the wake of the Oklahoma City Bombing. So many of you absolutely foolish humans confuse not liking our President or whatever politician you currently don't support as "hate." I hate George W. Bush. He lied and absolutely got 4,000 of our soldiers murdered and hundred of thousands more suffering from PTSD, he wrecked the economy, destroyed the surplus, let citizens drown in Katrina and all around was one of the worst things to ever happen to our great country. BUT I don't hate my government. I would not go bomb a building and murder hundreds of innocent everyday employees like Timothy McVeigh just because I did not like or hated my President.

    President Bill Cinton's quote was and is still brilliant today. I know most of you complete mental giants who have read less than five books your entire life hate Hillary or Obama but I still don't think you hate our Government if you truly love our Country. I espouse the same argument to my side. I think Trump deserved to win on political skill alone. I think he is intellectually shallow and a fraud but I like several things about him. But should I grow to not like or hate him... I will never grow to hate my Government because I love my Country and I love Democracy.

    Most of y'all are just flat out unpatriotic because you are spoon fed fake news from right wing crap shoots like this here website.

    Wake up, you complete and utter morons. Y'all are dumber than door knobs but I don't hate you.
     -- John, Little Rock, AR     
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    A lot of Russians, Cubans, Venezuelans, etc. would take issue with this ridiculous statement.

     -- Durham, Birmingham     
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    FYI, our founders despised de-mob-ocracy and mandated a republic.

    http://www.diffen.com/difference/Democracy_vs_Republic

     -- Durham, Birmingham     
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    The country and the government are two separate things — confusing them to be the same is a collectivist fallacy.  What is the government?  The Constitution is NOT the government but the rules for the government.  What if the government does not follow the rules and oppresses the people?  I do not hate the Constitution because the government is corrupt, I hate the corruption!  The hypocrisy of the current US government in comparison to its founding charters of government is immense — to ignore it is to further it.  SO yes, I can hate the government and love the country!
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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    Slick Willie was, as usual, wrong.
     -- jim k, austin     
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    Government is the fire to be governed by our Constitution. 
    Paternalistic Fabian socialism's siege upon our Free Republican form of government, thinking Hillary would come to reign, was a big mistake on their part, both sides of the isle. As with Obama's blunder and arrogant statements that the times of the Individual Sovereign, the Independent Sovereignty of the United States of America was over. Seeing they put their faith, in themselves only, and Not the Creator, by which this nation was formed, was their biggest mistake. Flames of corruption Now being extinguished, by cutting off the oxygen, breaking the triangle. The forgotten flyover country is forgotten no more. MAGA
     -- Ronw13, OR     
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    It WASN'T funny how they put Timmy to death so he can't speak anymore
     -- HOMER, Springfield, Mass     
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    That's funny! 
     -- SCSURFR, La Mirada     
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    Whether Bill Clinton likes it or not, you can most definitely  Love Your Country, but full out hate and despise the Unscrupulous, parasitic government Despots violating everyone's Unalienable Rights and Constitutional protections. 
     -- Mary, MI     
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    Yes you can... for such a dumb statement and it has 40 comments wow! Double thumbs down!
     -- Robert, somewhere in the USA     
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    Our country is great but government sucks.  That was the way the founders looked at it.  So as little government as possible makes a great country.
     -- warren, OLATHE     
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    You can love the Republic but hate the corrupt politicians currently running it.
     -- Austin, Los Angeles     
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