“Conceit, arrogance and egotism are the essentials of patriotism. Let me illustrate. Patriotism assumes that our globe is divided into little spots, each one surrounded by an iron gate. Those who have had the fortune of being born on some particular spot consider themselves nobler, better, grander, more intelligent than those living beings inhabiting any other spot. It is, therefore, the duty of everyone living on that chosen spot to fight, kill and die in the attempt to impose his superiority upon all the others.
The inhabitants of the other spots reason in like manner, of course, with the result that from early infancy the mind of the child is provided with blood-curdling stories about the Germans, the French, the Italians, Russians, etc. When the child has reached manhood he is thoroughly saturated with the belief that he is chosen by the Lord himself to defend his country against the attack or invasion of any foreigner. It is for that purpose that we are clamoring for a greater army and navy, more battleships and ammunition.
An army and navy represent the people's toys.”
What is Patriotism? (1908)
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Emma Goldman 109
anarchist known for her political activism, writing, and sp… 1868–1940Related quotes

1950s
Source: Sergei Eisenstein (1957), Film form [and]: The film sense, p. 127.

“Some painters transform the sun into a yellow spot, others transform a yellow spot into the sun.”

The Bridges, as quoted in The Old Bridge of Mostar and Increasing Respect for Cultural Property in Armed Conflict (2012) by Jadranka Petrovic, p. 65
“A leopard does not change his spots, or change his feeling that spots are rather a credit.”
More Women than Men (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, [1933] 1951) p. 54.

Part II: "Rallying Round the Flag"
1960s, Soul on Ice (1968)
“I find it hard to sit still in one spot, and impossible to sit still in two spots.”

"The Battle of Lovell's Pond," poem first published in the Portland Gazette (November 17, 1820).