"The highest patriotism is not a blind acceptance of official policy,
but a love of one's country deep enough
to call her to a higher standard."
by:
George McGovern
(1922-2012) US Congressman (D-SD), 1972 Democratic presidential nominee
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True ~~ spoken by one of the finest Senators & presidential candidates in American history. He lost, yes; but he consistently called the nation to a higher standard of justice & equality.
 -- dragonswizardz     
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    It's been said that the most dangerous thing in the world is to be right when the government is wrong.
     -- Logan, Memphis, TN     
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    A good quote by a far left liberal. Thank God he was never elected president.
     -- jim k, austin     
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    A trite dull platitude. Of course we should not accept things blindly and of course we should love our country and call her to a higher standard. A higher standard for ourselves would be to take off the blinders and understand government policies before we attack them. Government policies like science and technology can be very esoteric and complex and maybe not easily understood by all of us or at first glance. It is human nature to be angry at things we don't understand or are blind to. We should also understand the legislative history of things and why it is we are the way we are or have the laws we have befoe we just blindly thorw things overboard wholesale. I did not know it at the time 1973 but this guy was full of platitudes.
     -- Waffler, Smith, Arkansas     
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    Spoken like a real Patriot. What with the system we have being entirely corrupt, its time this became a wholesale sentiment and acted on.
     -- J Carlton, Calgary     
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    PS: This is a quote concerning the "ins and the outs". Nixon of course being the in authority and McGovern being the outside war protestor. (This is a great lesson for learning the importance of the context of a quote.) If I am correct about the context then it was not a platitude but a statement of Mr. McGoverns position versus the White House position on the war.
     -- Waffler, Smith, Arkansas     
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    A very timely quote. Some of us are sick and tired of people who call free speech treason. Where I come from that's a dictatorship, not a democracy. "Thank God he was never elected president?" Look who we elected instead! McGovern -- heck, ANYBODY -- would have done better than Tricky Dick did in his second term!
     -- Joe, North Caldwell, NJ     
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    Complex and esoteric as government may be, the reason and ability of telling whether or not legislation prohibits/infringes upon inalienable right is actually quite simple. A simple test question of: "Do I have the 'right' to do this to my neighbor" is the easiest test as to whether or not we can give government the power to act in our stead. Otherwise, any action, wise or unwise, is usurpation and tyranny.
     -- Logan, Memphis, TN     
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    To insist that our country observe the principles of Liberty upon which it was founded continues to be a call to a higher standard. Government should never be more complex than what a layman can understand -- otherwise it enters the realm of religion with esoteric interpretation by priests acting in God's stead. If Waffler can't understand how government works, then he becomes easy prey to those occupying seats of power who DO understand how government works. Worship of external authority is never good for free men/women.
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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    It is childish to think you can understand how every thing works. I don't know how a computer works, the universe and numerous other things. I trust professionals including medical ones every day to know how to do things for me and for society. Is it therefoe logical that government should be so simplistic that even Archer can understand it? It is natural that Archer would bring up the word worship in this regard because he is the one who worships at the altar of contrariness. If one believes in the Golden Rule and therefore has an understanding of how he would act in a position of authority then he can have some faith and trust that others will attempt to do the same thing towards him. How else are we able to have reprsentatives, mayors etc if we do not have this fatih. I am sorry for the contrarians. They are truly a sad crowd.
     -- Waffler, Smith, Arkansas     
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    It is my opinion that the problem here is, that we do understand all too well how government acts and is suposed to act. When one dose not understand it is easy to follow blindly. With knowledge comes the burden. The burden here is the awareness that at the present time our own goverment, the very one some of us put our lives on the line for and were willing to die for, is out of control, no longer takes direction from the people, and will willingly offer us up on the alter of the great God of government. Blind faith is death in itself.
     -- Ken, Milford Pa     
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    What surprises me is that the author of the quote is right, but I am just wondering if he is excluding himself. Obviously, because he never lead any kind of government. These days the problem is not blind acceptance of policy, the problem is that people are blindly following people based on some social fad or fashion or celebrity. This whole thing is very convoluted!
     -- RKA, Wasilla, AK     
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    So very true I could have not said anything more.
     -- Crystal, PA     
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    The blind leading the blind - O dear O dear what is to become of us. I suppose we are to believe the goverment when they tell us that Dr. Bruce Ivens (re Anthrax) committed suicide? Waffler read Glenn Greenwald's book "Great American Hypocrites." Patriotism is to always question authority.
     -- RobertSRQ     
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     -- Mike, Norwalk      
    Government and its employees make mistakes all of the time. When the mistakes are intentional it isn't a mistake it is a crime. When mistakes are due to ineptness or lack of due diligence it is also a crime. Those folks should be prosectued. The society is full of folks that when any thing goes wrong it is the governments fault. These folks are blind also. Blaming everything on government is a symptom of expecting everything from government. Thanks for the book tiltle, Robert.
     -- Waffler, Smith, Arkansas     
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    What a dull man.
     -- warren, olathe     
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    Great quote.
     -- Anonymous     
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    With this thought provoking statement in mind, is Socialism, what Mr Fredrick William Sillik says it is, the vision of social abilities to create? Also, should we not recognize the scope and range of the individual possessing such abilities as opposed to the usual routine conventional procedure of handing problems with mindless violence?
     -- Fredrick William Sillik, Anytown     
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