The Literature Network - PATRIOTISM AN ENDURING QUALITY IN NATION'S STRESSFUL TIMES.(LOCAL)

PATRIOTISM AN ENDURING QUALITY IN NATION'S STRESSFUL TIMES.(LOCAL)

Content courtesy of

From: The Virginian Pilot
Date: 20011014
Author:

Byline: GEORGE TUCKER

Like other members of my generation I learned what true patriotism means during the first year of my elementary education in the Norfolk public schools.

In using the word patriotism, however, I do not mean the jingoistic kind that Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) defined as ``the last refuge of a scoundrel,'' a cynical evaluation that Ambrose Bierce (1847-1914) further denigrated by declaring: ``In Dr. Johnson's dictionary, patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer, I beg ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Ambrose Bierce

LONELINESS LURKED BEHIND BIERCE'S BARBED WIT.(COMMENTARY)(Review)

AMBROSE BIERCE AND HIS WICKED ONE-LINERS

Ambrose Gwinett Bierce

Ambrose Bierce: Alone in Bad Company

Of the people, by the people ...(Ambrose Bierce )

Essential Bierce.(Essential Bierce: Selection of the Writings of Ambrose Bierce)(Brief article)(Book review)

War Without Glory - Ambrose Bierce's bitter, venomous stories look unflinchingly at war's hellish brutality and cruel ironies, contradicting traditional views.(Shadows of Blue and Gray: The Civil War Writings of Ambrose Bierce)(Book Review)

WAR TRANSFORMED WRITER'S IDEALISM INTO DISILLUSIONMENT.(Spotlight)(Review)

AMBROSE BIERCE: A SOLE SURVIVOR, BITS OF AUTOBIOGRAPHY.(Review)

Find More Articles

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.