Civil government cannot let any group ride roughshod over others simply because their consciences tell them to do so.
Robert H. JacksonRead
To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are voluntary and spontaneous instead of a compulsory routine is to make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions to free minds.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Patriotism thrives on genuine expression rather than enforced routines.
In this quote, Robert H. Jackson argues that true patriotism is rooted in voluntary and authentic expressions of national pride, rather than obligatory and ritualistic ceremonies. He suggests that if people believe they need to be compelled to show their love for their country, it reflects poorly on the value of the principles that underpin a free society and the natural inclination of free minds to embrace their nation's ideals.
Themes
PatriotismFreedomVoluntaryCeremonyInstitutions
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about national unity, one might reference this quote to emphasize the importance of authentic expressions of patriotism.
More from Robert H. Jackson
All quotes βWhile the Nation has forbidden monopoly by one set of laws it has been creating them by another. Patent laws, valuable as they may be in some respects, often father monopoly.
Robert H. JacksonRead
Freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order.
Robert H. JacksonRead
In our country are evangelists and zealots of many different political, economic and religious persuasions whose fanatical conviction is that all thought is divinely classified into two kinds - that which is their own and that which is false and dangerous.
Robert H. JacksonRead
We must make clear to the Germans that the wrong for which their fallen leaders are on trial is not that they lost the war, but that they started it. And we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into a trial of the causes of the war, for our position is that no grievances or policies will justify resort to aggressive war. It is utterly renounced and condemned as an instrument of policy.
Robert H. JacksonRead
Our forefathers found the evils of free thinking more to be endured than the evils of inquest or suppression. This is because thoughtful, bold and independent minds are essential to the wise and considered self-government.
Robert H. JacksonRead
Similar quotes
Personally, I always wondered about authors and celebrities who loudly declared there was no God. It was usually when they were healthy and popular and being listened to by crowds. What happens, I wondered, in the quiet moments before death? By then, they have lost the stage, the world has moved on. If suddenly, in their last gasping moments, through fear, a vision, a late enlightenment, they change their minds about God, who would know?
Mitch AlbomRead
All is forgotten in the stone halls of the dead. These are the rooms of ruin where the spiders spin and the great circuits fall quiet, one by one.
Stephen KingRead
You can't be in business with international development and not understand basic issues of colonialism, postcolonialism and white privilege.
David LammyRead
History shows that the human mind, fed by constant accessions of knowledge, periodically grows too large for its theoretical coverings, and bursts them asunder to appear in new habiliments, as the feeding and growing grub, at intervals, casts its too narrow skin and assumes another.
Charles DarwinRead
The door could not be heard slamming; they had probably left it open, as is the custom in homes where a great misfortune has occurred.
Franz KafkaRead
One of the reasons why fundamentalists are so aggressive in trying to promote fundamentalism is because deep down they know it's arbitrary. If you're comfortable with your belief you don't need to convince other people to agree with you.
MobyRead