This remark is funny until you ruminate on what it means to the fraction of our people who would burn books to prevent truth from reaching the eyes and ears of future generations. Or those who would spread lies to tear down our nation our constitution and our democracy.
On the one hand Twain is reminding rightly us that life is learning lived first hand. On the other hand, Schooling at best prepares you to learn first hand, and equips you with an understanding of our American social contract, and the skills to differentiate right from wrong. But of course that works best if what you learn in school is actually the truth, which is very unlikely these days if you live in Texas. Pennsylvania, Florida or any of nine other states that ban books.
While it may seem counter intuitive to some, diversity in our resource materials is our most important tool for detecting what is true and untrue.
The wisdom of crowds, our collective grasp on reality, how we come to know what is true, depends upon two crucial factors diversity and independence to arrive at a correct understandings of what is true. Influencers and those who would filter who is allowed to , or is denied the opportunity, to share their opinion, prevent our collective understanding from arriving at the truth. They are the most powerful tools of propagandists who would transform a wise crowd into a mis-directed mob.
Be wary if you live in Texas Pennsylvania or Florida. someone in government there has a nefarious plan to use you as a tool for something that must be not quite right.
Twain was pretty sly... and he may have also had dual meaning in his quote insofar as he lived a fairly rugged life for someone who wasn't a cowboy; he surely picked up plenty of lessons in some of his adventures/misadventures (almost like a Hunter S. Thompson of his day) - but the spirit of carrying forward is quintessentially American (and suggests we are *all* in for an education - no matter how much consternation we may have about our letters).
Excellent, spot-on post. As an ex-pat in the UK, I often look over ‘the pond’ with a mixture of fear and shame engendered by those ‘patriots’ who’s understanding of the term is more akin to ‘fascist,’ ‘nationalist’ or ‘jingoist.’ Thanks for reminding us of its true definition.
@John. A false patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels. It is unhelpful to take quotes out of context as Samuel Johnson meant the above in context, not the literal meaning of that phrase. Also
Thank you for defining the problem. I’m a veteran and I’m appalled at what passes for patriotism in the US. Service for all, not service for straight, white, Christians only.
Great comments Robert, and DM, my dad was the same; a WW II veteran disgusted by fake patriots. I’m glad he didn’t live to see the likes of dRumpf and others.
My dad, seven of my uncles served in WWII. I was a combat engineer, "advisor" in Vietnam, 1966-1967.
On July 4, 1976 my dad, already retired, veteran of the North Africa, Sicily and Italy campaign, gave the main speech in Ellwood City, Pa. The theme: “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.”
On the same day, my uncle, veteran of Burma, China India theater, a commander of a commando unit in Burma, was on the Mall in DC and was interviewed in an article in the Washington Post. He told the Post how his grandfather came to the US as an escapee from the Crimean War, and chose July 4 as his birthday.
This has been the land of opportunity for most of us. My service gave me a step up - and I am grateful for that.
But as soon as we are discharged, the same people who wear phony patriotism on their sleeves consider veterans to be "takers" and not makers. How can any veteran not recognize that?
The sentiment isn't aimed at Veterans. The specific group doesn't matter. No matter how much one contributes to Social Security, it's a "hand out." Pilots were greedy for wanting decent pay. Taking our pensions was OK. If one is a refugee from another country, one is a taker. Covid payments are Democrat's free money now causing inflation. But somehow, the subsidizing of corporations and the ultra-wealthy is a good thing, not just to the crooks responsible but to millions of voters. In my former occupation, the majority of them are veterans, including many former officers. If they're angry at being considered takers, why are they voring against their own interests? Is it because they're the among "in group" being displaced by "melting pot" demographics, and the GOP is playing to their anger, and they buy it? Or...? Obviously the GOP is not out to help the average white male pilot or veteran or anyone else not a member of their elite club. It seems that Democrats must find a way to show reality to those pilots and other MAGA voters. How? I don't know. The Democrats don't seem to know. Is there at least a V2V outreach?
Also -- just my 2 cents -- today's patriot uses inclusive language.
So very true, Daniel. We need many more veterans speaking up. I served on DACOWITS. Thank you SO VERY MUCH for your service. So many back in eastern Ohio and southern Ohio watch Fox News, use only the crazy channels on social media. We have to mobilize.
More later. We have a Veterans Caucus here through the party.
Daniel, your family sounds amazing. And I’m with you on getting more credit for JB. It’s hard to get past the micro personal of gas prices and inflation. There’s a collective depression after COVID and Trump and January 6...and now the Supremes. IMHO. French word is escaping me?
Thanks so much for this Daniel. Wow...you, your family. Thank you for giving of yourself to this country, supporting the US to be the country we all want to live in.
Lincoln summed it up most succinctly: "As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy."
Slavery is not just the chattel slavery we most commonly consider. It is also slavery subsumed in paying an employee with a wage and in a manner which locks him to the wheel exclusively for your benefit.
It is also the slavery of insisting on deciding the most personal things for another like what to God they must pray if any or when and how to reproduce.
The web of life ties everything together, human and animal, flora and fauna. If we do not acknowledge this in all things, it's as if we would live in a world without oxygen or without water. Good luck with that.
It's now almost 400 years since John Donne wrote his famous meditation:
No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
All this is a main reason I gave 14 years in uniformed service to my country. It's my flag, too, dammit!
Patriots celebrate and value diversity, united in the belief that all people deserve equal opportunity, justice and a secure future for themselves and their children. It doesn't always happen, but working towards a level playing field for ALL is essential. There is none of this patriotism in the xenophobia, racism and irrational fears created by Trump and his tribe the Big Liars. They don't want a "better America", but rather an "American their way". This sort of basic division is not patriotic.
Read some Justice William O. Douglas’s writings. He understood that dissent is the lifeblood of democracy. When we’re united in pride about something, it’s usually some damfool tear we’ve gone off on event.
Thank you, Robert Reich, One thing I would add, Patriots in the State Legislatures do not take Legislation written by an outside coalition of greedy, warped people (ALEC), and enact it in their State Legislatures with no further discussion, for the sole purpose of retaining their puny power.
This is true. Thank you, Robert. What I find most odious is the idea that our borders must be closed to people who need to come here for a better, safer living; they’ll benefit us. We also have to ensure the peaceful, lawful transfer of power.
Thank you so very much for this! I add one more thing. True Patriots accept America’s past, warts and all. We learn from our past and move on. We don’t whitewash it. We remember it so we’re not condemned to repeat it.
Excellent analysis - and we are in big trouble because not one Senator who aided the insurrection has been called out in public much less suffered any consequence for their CRIMES. and Just WHEN is that bastard tRump going to be arrested and prosecuted????
Why have an Attorney General if he cannot prosecute the man who has been the biggest threat to our Democratic Republic!, and there is tons of evidence of it!. He must have adequate protection!! What is going on?
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Justice Alito would say that since “women” are not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence they do not have the rights enumerated just as he said in the Dobbs decision he authored that women have no constitutional right to abortion because abortion is not specifically named in the Constitution.
And Patriots certainly don't grab 20 or 30 million dollars every year for vomiting vicious lies through the media for the profit of their frightened, quaking devotees and greedy shareholders. And they know who and what they are, and they don't care. But they ain't patriots, fer sure.
True patriotism means service. Caring for others, being sure that EVERYONE has what they need to thrive. It does not mean everyone out for themselves at the expense of others. Talk used to be cheap, but the Big Lie has shown what a cost talk can have. Let us stop tearing ourselves apart and trying to hurt others.
Being a patriot is to love one's country, not to hate people we deem as "others." It is to serve it with integrity and probity, and, for this exact reason, criticize it when it is not loyal to its ideals. "Love it or leave it!", the rallying cry of Fox "news" pundits, is an emotional fit of anger and a brain laxative aimed at preventing building a genuine relationship with one's country.
Yes to all the foregoing and adding one aspect not mentioned above that matters, patriotism as a determinant of foreign policy.
This is an area where many have given up the classic position, “dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.” In layman’s terms, my country right or wrong.
Over the years we have seen proliferation of protests over foreign wars etc. But I just want to make one small point which is that voter redistricting is going to make it even harder for every eligible voter to signal their opinions “officially”. So you can expect see more polarization, protests and militarization of law enforcement. More good news.
"He is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse its sins."
- Frederick Douglass
and it took a Civil War to make us a step towards understanding what Douglass said. Lotsa dead kids.
“I have never let schooling interfere with my education.”
- Mark Twain
This remark is funny until you ruminate on what it means to the fraction of our people who would burn books to prevent truth from reaching the eyes and ears of future generations. Or those who would spread lies to tear down our nation our constitution and our democracy.
On the one hand Twain is reminding rightly us that life is learning lived first hand. On the other hand, Schooling at best prepares you to learn first hand, and equips you with an understanding of our American social contract, and the skills to differentiate right from wrong. But of course that works best if what you learn in school is actually the truth, which is very unlikely these days if you live in Texas. Pennsylvania, Florida or any of nine other states that ban books.
While it may seem counter intuitive to some, diversity in our resource materials is our most important tool for detecting what is true and untrue.
The wisdom of crowds, our collective grasp on reality, how we come to know what is true, depends upon two crucial factors diversity and independence to arrive at a correct understandings of what is true. Influencers and those who would filter who is allowed to , or is denied the opportunity, to share their opinion, prevent our collective understanding from arriving at the truth. They are the most powerful tools of propagandists who would transform a wise crowd into a mis-directed mob.
Be wary if you live in Texas Pennsylvania or Florida. someone in government there has a nefarious plan to use you as a tool for something that must be not quite right.
Don't forget Iowa...education, especially the primary years, is all about indoctrination and living with what you are told...
Twain was pretty sly... and he may have also had dual meaning in his quote insofar as he lived a fairly rugged life for someone who wasn't a cowboy; he surely picked up plenty of lessons in some of his adventures/misadventures (almost like a Hunter S. Thompson of his day) - but the spirit of carrying forward is quintessentially American (and suggests we are *all* in for an education - no matter how much consternation we may have about our letters).
Cheers to your insights (and 'Happy 4th'!)...
= )
Me, neither!
Excellent, spot-on post. As an ex-pat in the UK, I often look over ‘the pond’ with a mixture of fear and shame engendered by those ‘patriots’ who’s understanding of the term is more akin to ‘fascist,’ ‘nationalist’ or ‘jingoist.’ Thanks for reminding us of its true definition.
"Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels"
@John. A false patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels. It is unhelpful to take quotes out of context as Samuel Johnson meant the above in context, not the literal meaning of that phrase. Also
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/13/weekinreview/the-nation-the-last-refuge-of-scoundrels-and-a-noble-virtue.html?smid=url-share
Actually, it appears Johnson meant >exactly< that false patriotism you speak of: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2020/06/14/scoundrel/
https://interestingliterature.com/2021/05/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel-meaning-origins/
I particularly like this writer's reference to Pogo!:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/patriotism-is-the-last-re_b_12183324
I still live here in the US and am totally overcome with the fear and shame you describe.
A Declaration
Not to be on laurels resting . .or one's worth always professing . .
but an earned Buck Up . . (if in the Screen biz, so what)
You're as Good as Your Best Thing #All are created
What does this mean?
God and I both knew at the time . . now only He does . .. (Wilder to Lemon flotsam; I watch too much The Movie Channel)
Ben Franklin on the signing...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCEE9pOkvQU
"Just a piece of paper?"
You have a Republic . . if some towering fake tycoon doesn't creep it . ..
Thank you for defining the problem. I’m a veteran and I’m appalled at what passes for patriotism in the US. Service for all, not service for straight, white, Christians only.
My father was a WW ll vet. He was repulsed by these fake patriots.
Great comments Robert, and DM, my dad was the same; a WW II veteran disgusted by fake patriots. I’m glad he didn’t live to see the likes of dRumpf and others.
Couldn't "heart."
My dad, seven of my uncles served in WWII. I was a combat engineer, "advisor" in Vietnam, 1966-1967.
On July 4, 1976 my dad, already retired, veteran of the North Africa, Sicily and Italy campaign, gave the main speech in Ellwood City, Pa. The theme: “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.”
On the same day, my uncle, veteran of Burma, China India theater, a commander of a commando unit in Burma, was on the Mall in DC and was interviewed in an article in the Washington Post. He told the Post how his grandfather came to the US as an escapee from the Crimean War, and chose July 4 as his birthday.
This has been the land of opportunity for most of us. My service gave me a step up - and I am grateful for that.
But as soon as we are discharged, the same people who wear phony patriotism on their sleeves consider veterans to be "takers" and not makers. How can any veteran not recognize that?
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/06/07/remarks-by-president-biden-at-signing-of-nine-bipartisan-bills-that-honor-and-improve-care-for-veterans/
The sentiment isn't aimed at Veterans. The specific group doesn't matter. No matter how much one contributes to Social Security, it's a "hand out." Pilots were greedy for wanting decent pay. Taking our pensions was OK. If one is a refugee from another country, one is a taker. Covid payments are Democrat's free money now causing inflation. But somehow, the subsidizing of corporations and the ultra-wealthy is a good thing, not just to the crooks responsible but to millions of voters. In my former occupation, the majority of them are veterans, including many former officers. If they're angry at being considered takers, why are they voring against their own interests? Is it because they're the among "in group" being displaced by "melting pot" demographics, and the GOP is playing to their anger, and they buy it? Or...? Obviously the GOP is not out to help the average white male pilot or veteran or anyone else not a member of their elite club. It seems that Democrats must find a way to show reality to those pilots and other MAGA voters. How? I don't know. The Democrats don't seem to know. Is there at least a V2V outreach?
Also -- just my 2 cents -- today's patriot uses inclusive language.
You're right but the theme was veterans.
I also speak fluent benefits. Social Security Medicare, Black Lung, VA. I worked 10 years for SSA. 20 for DOL. Even a whacko MAGA needs to survive.
When I speak to Trumpers I speak benefits. Here's a paper from 2016. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/naalj/vol36/iss1/4/
When I speak to pilots, I speak safety. You see, I heard AIR21 cases for 19 years. At least one of my decisions was appealed to SCOTUS.
https://www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/whistleblower
Too many pilots are summer patriots and do not know jack!!!!
Mo, try VoteVets, a progressive veterans’ organization.
That is true, Bro.
So very true, Daniel. We need many more veterans speaking up. I served on DACOWITS. Thank you SO VERY MUCH for your service. So many back in eastern Ohio and southern Ohio watch Fox News, use only the crazy channels on social media. We have to mobilize.
More later. We have a Veterans Caucus here through the party.
Daniel, your family sounds amazing. And I’m with you on getting more credit for JB. It’s hard to get past the micro personal of gas prices and inflation. There’s a collective depression after COVID and Trump and January 6...and now the Supremes. IMHO. French word is escaping me?
Ennui?
VoteVets is a progressive veterans’ organization.
Ennui?
Thank you Laurie. It took me a few moments to remember!
Being a Vietnam vet myself we were considered takers and not makers.
Like your most apt "Right or Wrong" quote. It's been attributed to Carl Schurz.
Always read your comments.
Thanks so much for this Daniel. Wow...you, your family. Thank you for giving of yourself to this country, supporting the US to be the country we all want to live in.
Lincoln summed it up most succinctly: "As I would not be a slave, so I would not be a master. This expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy."
Slavery is not just the chattel slavery we most commonly consider. It is also slavery subsumed in paying an employee with a wage and in a manner which locks him to the wheel exclusively for your benefit.
It is also the slavery of insisting on deciding the most personal things for another like what to God they must pray if any or when and how to reproduce.
The web of life ties everything together, human and animal, flora and fauna. If we do not acknowledge this in all things, it's as if we would live in a world without oxygen or without water. Good luck with that.
It's now almost 400 years since John Donne wrote his famous meditation:
No man is an island entire of itself; every man
is a piece of the continent, a part of the main;
if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe
is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as
well as any manner of thy friends or of thine
own were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
All this is a main reason I gave 14 years in uniformed service to my country. It's my flag, too, dammit!
Patriots celebrate and value diversity, united in the belief that all people deserve equal opportunity, justice and a secure future for themselves and their children. It doesn't always happen, but working towards a level playing field for ALL is essential. There is none of this patriotism in the xenophobia, racism and irrational fears created by Trump and his tribe the Big Liars. They don't want a "better America", but rather an "American their way". This sort of basic division is not patriotic.
diversity makes us strong- division makes us weak.
Succinctly stated! Happy Independence Day!
Read some Justice William O. Douglas’s writings. He understood that dissent is the lifeblood of democracy. When we’re united in pride about something, it’s usually some damfool tear we’ve gone off on event.
Thank you, Robert Reich, One thing I would add, Patriots in the State Legislatures do not take Legislation written by an outside coalition of greedy, warped people (ALEC), and enact it in their State Legislatures with no further discussion, for the sole purpose of retaining their puny power.
Thank you, very much. And thank you for providing this fantastic forum in which to meet and discuss topics of great importance
This is true. Thank you, Robert. What I find most odious is the idea that our borders must be closed to people who need to come here for a better, safer living; they’ll benefit us. We also have to ensure the peaceful, lawful transfer of power.
Thank you so very much for this! I add one more thing. True Patriots accept America’s past, warts and all. We learn from our past and move on. We don’t whitewash it. We remember it so we’re not condemned to repeat it.
You’re right Mr Reich, and it scares me that so many in power have us careening at breakneck speed in the other direction.
Excellent analysis - and we are in big trouble because not one Senator who aided the insurrection has been called out in public much less suffered any consequence for their CRIMES. and Just WHEN is that bastard tRump going to be arrested and prosecuted????
Most important question of the century!
Why have an Attorney General if he cannot prosecute the man who has been the biggest threat to our Democratic Republic!, and there is tons of evidence of it!. He must have adequate protection!! What is going on?
Well said, Robert Reich! Happy 4th of July! to you and everyone on this forum!
Happy Independence Day Laurie! 🇺🇸😎🇺🇸
Happy 4th of July to you, too, Laurie!
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
“A republic if you can keep it."
Justice Alito would say that since “women” are not mentioned in the Declaration of Independence they do not have the rights enumerated just as he said in the Dobbs decision he authored that women have no constitutional right to abortion because abortion is not specifically named in the Constitution.
And Patriots certainly don't grab 20 or 30 million dollars every year for vomiting vicious lies through the media for the profit of their frightened, quaking devotees and greedy shareholders. And they know who and what they are, and they don't care. But they ain't patriots, fer sure.
True patriotism means service. Caring for others, being sure that EVERYONE has what they need to thrive. It does not mean everyone out for themselves at the expense of others. Talk used to be cheap, but the Big Lie has shown what a cost talk can have. Let us stop tearing ourselves apart and trying to hurt others.
Being a patriot is to love one's country, not to hate people we deem as "others." It is to serve it with integrity and probity, and, for this exact reason, criticize it when it is not loyal to its ideals. "Love it or leave it!", the rallying cry of Fox "news" pundits, is an emotional fit of anger and a brain laxative aimed at preventing building a genuine relationship with one's country.
Thank you, RR!
Yes to all the foregoing and adding one aspect not mentioned above that matters, patriotism as a determinant of foreign policy.
This is an area where many have given up the classic position, “dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.” In layman’s terms, my country right or wrong.
Over the years we have seen proliferation of protests over foreign wars etc. But I just want to make one small point which is that voter redistricting is going to make it even harder for every eligible voter to signal their opinions “officially”. So you can expect see more polarization, protests and militarization of law enforcement. More good news.
Today read one of the War Poets - Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon. You quoted one today, W.
Thank you for noticing - even Wilfred Owen cribbed it - from Horace, I think.