--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They say that patriotism is the last…" description: "\"They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings steal a little and they throw you in jail. Steal a lot and then they make you k..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/728/bob-dylan-168_jail_they-say-that-patriotism-is-the-last-ref_2547629.jpg" --- # They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a… ![“They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings steal a little and they throw you in jail. Steal a lot and then they make you king.” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/728/bob-dylan-168_jail_they-say-that-patriotism-is-the-last-ref_2547629.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/728/bob-dylan-168_jail_they-say-that-patriotism-is-the-last-ref_2547629.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/728/bob-dylan-168_jail_they-say-that-patriotism-is-the-last-ref_2547629.jpg) > “They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings steal a little and they throw you in jail. Steal a lot and then they make you king.” [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Patriotism can be exploited by those in power, rewarding minor loyalty while punishing dissent, yet granting authority to the unscrupulous. **In simple terms:** Patriotism is used to control and reward. Key Takeaway Question the motives behind patriotic rhetoric. Themes politics power loyalty justice Mood critical skeptical reflective Type cautionary political When to use this quote - political campaigns - legal systems - public protests - media narratives Key Concepts social control authoritarianism moral hypocrisy Questions to Reflect On - Who benefits from labeling dissent as unpatriotic? - How can you support authentic civic engagement? A Different Perspective Patriotism can also inspire genuine solidarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Jail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jail/) [Kings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kings/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Patriotism Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism-refuge-589440/) [Refuge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge/) [Refuge Scoundrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/refuge-scoundrel-589442/) [Say Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-patriotism-1490472/) [Scoundrel Clings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scoundrel-clings-1490473/) [Scoundrels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scoundrels/) [Stealing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stealing/) ## Related quotes > [Patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-to-which-a-scoundrel-clings/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Whether or not patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel, national security can be the last refuge of the tyrant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-walker-of-gestingthorpe-robert-walker/whether-or-not-patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/) [Baron Walker of Gestingthorpe Robert Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-walker-of-gestingthorpe-robert-walker/) > [What every Englishman thinks about patriotism, the last refuge of a scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/what-every-englishman-thinks-about-patriotism-the-last-refuge-of-a/) [Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/) > [I'm an advocate of the great Dr. Johnson, the English man of letters who said that patriotism was the last refuge of the scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-galloway/i-m-an-advocate-of-the-great-dr-johnson-the-english-man-of-letters/) [George Galloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-galloway/) > [Today one might be tempted to say that patriotism is the last refuge of the tribal religion dedicated to the worship of German, French,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-alexander-leighton/today-one-might-be-tempted-to-say-that-patriotism-is-the-last-refuge/) [Joseph Alexander Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-alexander-leighton/) > [Public office is the last refuge of the scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boies-penrose/public-office-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/) [Boies Penrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boies-penrose/) > [When Dr. Johnson defined patriotism as the last refuge of a scoundrel, he ignored the enormous possibilities of the word reform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roscoe-conkling/when-dr-johnson-defined-patriotism-as-the-last-refuge-of-a-scoundrel/) [Roscoe Conkling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roscoe-conkling/) > [Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-a-scoundrel/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“Safety is the last refuge of the scoundrel!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-crichton/safety-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/) [Michael Crichton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-crichton/) > [Patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-samuel-johnson/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-scoundrels/) [William Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-samuel-johnson/) > [Patriotism is the last refuge of the sculptor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-plomer/patriotism-is-the-last-refuge-of-the-sculptor/) [William Plomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-plomer/) > [Those who believe patriotism to be the last refuge of the scoundrel have underestimated compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmett-tyrrell/those-who-believe-patriotism-to-be-the-last-refuge-of-the-scoundrel/) [Emmett Tyrrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmett-tyrrell/) > [The first derivative is the last refuge of a scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-p-kindleberger/the-first-derivative-is-the-last-refuge-of-a-scoundrel/) [Charles P. Kindleberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-p-kindleberger/) > [In argument about moral problems, relativism is the first refuge of the scoundrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/in-argument-about-moral-problems-relativism-is-the-first-refuge-of/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) ## More by Bob Dylan > [The hollow horn plays wasted words, proves to warn that he not busy being born is busy dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-hollow-horn-plays-wasted-words-proves-to-warn-that-he-not-busy/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't forget to support your public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-forget-to-support-your-public-library/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [You don't count the dead, when god's on your side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-don-t-count-the-dead-when-god-s-on-your-side/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She makes love just like a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-makes-love-just-like-a-woman/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Silvio, I gotta go, find out something only dead men know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/silvio-i-gotta-go-find-out-something-only-dead-men-know/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I don't really have a retirement plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-really-have-a-retirement-plan/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Just a reminder, if you tell anyone about what happened with Jonah last night, I'll destroy all of my writing and never play music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/just-a-reminder-if-you-tell-anyone-about-what-happened-with-jonah/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Little red wagon, little red bike, I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/little-red-wagon-little-red-bike-i-ain-t-no-monkey-but-i-know-what-i/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift - look out out kid, they keep it all hid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/twenty-years-of-schooling-and-they-put-you-on-the-day-shift-look-out/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The drunken politician leaps upon the street where mothers weep, and the saviors who are fast asleep, they wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-drunken-politician-leaps-upon-the-street-where-mothers-weep-and/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/your-eyes-are-like-two-jewels-in-the-sky/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I gotta friend who spends his life, stabbing my picture with a bowie knife. Dreams of strangling me with a scarf, when my name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-gotta-friend-who-spends-his-life-stabbing-my-picture-with-a-bowie/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She speaks with a stutter and she and she walks with a hop. I don't know why I love her, but I just can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-speaks-with-a-stutter-and-she-and-she-walks-with-a-hop-i-don-t/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The man in the coon skin cap in the pig pen wants eleven dollar bills, you've only got ten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-man-in-the-coon-skin-cap-in-the-pig-pen-wants-eleven-dollar-bills/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't put my faith in nobody, not even a scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-put-my-faith-in-nobody-not-even-a-scientist/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) [Explore all 1,018 Bob Dylan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More Jail quotes > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [Jail is definitely not cool. Education is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ja-rule/jail-is-definitely-not-cool-education-is/) [Ja Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ja-rule/) > [Yesterday's truth is today's bullshit. Even yesterday's liberating insight is today's jail of stale explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-blanton/yesterday-s-truth-is-today-s-bullshit-even-yesterday-s-liberating/) [Brad Blanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-blanton/) > [This is for all those disturbed females that are either with a guy that should be locked up, or crying over some dude in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adar-burks/this-is-for-all-those-disturbed-females-that-are-either-with-a-guy/) [Adar Burks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adar-burks/) > [ \[As in the case of\] alcohol prohibition, illegality has driven organized crime, sent countless people to jail, and killed many thousands. Repression does not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-branson/as-in-the-case-of-alcohol-prohibition-illegality-has-driven-organized/) [Sam Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-branson/) > [“Do not fear ARREST. Why? Because, there is REST at the end of each AR"REST"; either in jail or in the grave. The wisest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/opoong-amankwaa/do-not-fear-arrest-why-because-there-is-rest-at-the-end-of-each-ar/) [Opoong Amankwaa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/opoong-amankwaa/) > [Almost makes you want to go to jail out here, doesn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/almost-makes-you-want-to-go-to-jail-out-here-doesn-t-it/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [They would almost throw the cops in jail when they tried to arrest me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-taylor/they-would-almost-throw-the-cops-in-jail-when-they-tried-to-arrest-me/) [Lawrence Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-taylor/) > [a TEN-YEAR-OLD lad in Indianapolis who was arrested for picking up coal along the side of railroad tracks is now in jail. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-jones/a-ten-year-old-lad-in-indianapolis-who-was-arrested-for-picking-up/) [Mother Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-jones/) > [Those type of whites who are always going to jail with Negroes are the ones who tell Negroes to be loving and be kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/those-type-of-whites-who-are-always-going-to-jail-with-negroes-are/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [A good friend would bail you out of jail, but your best friend would be the one sitting next to you saying, "damn that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gorgeous-girl/a-good-friend-would-bail-you-out-of-jail-but-your-best-friend-would/) [Gorgeous\_girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gorgeous-girl/) > [I am surprised that many people disregard the fact that the end for almost all drug dealers ends up being the cemetery or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-pablo-escobar/i-am-surprised-that-many-people-disregard-the-fact-that-the-end-for/) [Juan Pablo Escobar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-pablo-escobar/) > [As we go on with our lives we tend to forget that the jails and the hospitals and the madhouses and the graveyards are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/as-we-go-on-with-our-lives-we-tend-to-forget-that-the-jails-and-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [When I produced Spartacus, the writer was Dalton Trumbo, who spent a year in jail because he would not answer McCarthy's questions about other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/when-i-produced-spartacus-the-writer-was-dalton-trumbo-who-spent-a/) [Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/) > [I take no pleasure in seeing DeLay swing gently in the wind. But the thing I believe in the most is ethics. If someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-delay/i-take-no-pleasure-in-seeing-delay-swing-gently-in-the-wind-but-the/) [Tom DeLay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-delay/) [Browse all 1,294 Jail quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jail/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings steal a little and they throw you in jail. 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