Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong, which course is patriotic and which isn’t. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor, both to yourself and to your country, let men label you as they may.

— Mark Twain

The love of one’s country is a splendid thing. But why should love stop at the border?

— Pablo Casals

Love your country. Your country is the land where your parents sleep, where is spoken that language in which the chosen of your heart, blushing, whispered the first word of love; it is the home that God has given you that by striving to perfect yourselves therein you may prepare to ascend to him.

— Giuseppe Mazzini

It is the love of country that has lighted and that keeps glowing the holy fire of patriotism.

— J Horace McFarland

Our country is not the only thing to which we owe our allegiance. It is also owed to justice and to humanity. Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong.

— James Bryce

A private man, however successful in his own dealing, if his country perish is involved in her destruction; but if he be an unprosperous citizen of a prosperous city, he is much more likely to recover. Seeing, then, that states can bear the misfortunes of individuals, but individuals cannot bear the misfortunes of States, let us all stand by our country.

— Thucydides

Patriotic societies seem to think that the way to educate school children in a democracy is to stage bigger and better flag-saluting.

— S I Hayakawa

Patriotism is often an arbitrary veneration of real estate above principles.

— George Jean Nathan