Stephen Decatur
"My country, right or wrong,"
Perhaps the most misquoted phrase ever... Used by politicians to justify any number of actions.
Stephen Decatur, an early American naval hero, gave the above at a banquet. But most leave out the entirety of the toast...
Here it is, in it's entirety...
Actual toast...
"Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong!"
The first misquoted portion comes across, at first blush, as blatantly jingoistic. The quote in its entirety? Somewhat less so.
Or...
The first describes what used to be called a superpatriot... My country can do no wrong, we are the beacon of all that is good in this world...
Yadda, yadda, yadda...
The second? A somewhat more realistic version of patriotism. One loves ones country, but isn't blind to the problems and issues that mar it's
character...
My country is, in my not so humble opinion, the greatest place on Earth. But in it's intercourse with other nations, it hasn't always been
right...but she remains my beloved home.
That my friends, is where the problem begins. Some think that my country can, and has, done no wrong... Or conversely, it's done
nothing right.
Well, it's neither of those things... As with everything on this Earth, the truth of the matter is somewhere in the middle. It's up to us, as it's
citizens, to decide when it's right, and when it's wrong. To celebrate the right, and condemn,
and fix, that which is wrong.
It's the fixing part that is the most difficult obviously. Voter turn outs in elections are hovering at around 50%... Civic involvement is laughable
in all too many places... Apathetic morons who are more concerned with the latest reruns on TV than the fact that our country is headed towards an
all too uncertain future...
I don't know all the solutions to the issues confronting us... But I do know
this...it won't fix itself.
It's all very well and good to realize we have a problem... Condemning is easy... Let's see about fixing it.
edit on 1/3/2012 by seagull because: (no reason given)
edit on 1/3/2012 by seagull because: (no reason given)