--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Patriotism has served, at different…" description: "\"Patriotism has served, at different times, as widely different ends as a razor, which ought to be used in keeping your face clean and yet may be used t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/charles-edward-montague-33477_clean_patriotism-has-served-at-different-times_311238.png" --- # Patriotism has served, at different times, as widely… ![“Patriotism has served, at different times, as widely different ends as a razor, which ought to be used in keeping your face clean and yet may be used to cut your own throat or that of an innocent person.” quote by Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/charles-edward-montague-33477_clean_patriotism-has-served-at-different-times_311238.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/charles-edward-montague-33477_clean_patriotism-has-served-at-different-times_311238.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66a/charles-edward-montague-33477_clean_patriotism-has-served-at-different-times_311238.png) > “Patriotism has served, at different times, as widely different ends as a razor, which ought to be used in keeping your face clean and yet may be used to cut your own throat or that of an innocent person.” [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) ## 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 a tool for both noble and harmful purposes, depending on how it is wielded. **In simple terms:** Patriotism can be used for good or bad. Key Takeaway Use patriotism responsibly. Themes ethics politics identity Mood cautious reflective Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - political campaigns - social movements - public policy - community organizing Key Concepts moral philosophy nationalism Questions to Reflect On - How can citizens discern genuine patriotism? - What safeguards protect against misuse? A Different Perspective Patriotism can be manipulated by leaders for personal gain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Clean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clean/) [Cut Throat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cut-throat/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Different times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-times/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Ends Razor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends-razor-2953862/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Innocent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent/) [Innocent person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innocent-person/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Patriotism Served](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism-served-2953860/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Razor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/razor/) [Razor Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/razor-ought-2953861/) [Razors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/razors/) [Throat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/throat/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Your face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/your-face/) ## Related quotes > [“If I had a razor, I'd cut your throat - just to see what ran out of it." "Caterpillar blood," I said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/if-i-had-a-razor-i-d-cut-your-throat-just-to-see-what-ran-out-of-it/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“Let go! Gollum,' he said. 'This is Sting. You have seen it before once upon a time. Let go, or you'll feel it this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien/let-go-gollum-he-said-this-is-sting-you-have-seen-it-before-once-upon/) [J.R.R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien/) > [“Try persuading the world not to cut its throat for half a decade or more...and it'll begin to dawn on you that even your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-lowry/try-persuading-the-world-not-to-cut-its-throat-for-half-a-decade-or/) [Malcolm Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-lowry/) > [What's the best angle to cut someone's throat? Well, usually from behind. That's usually how it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/what-s-the-best-angle-to-cut-someone-s-throat-well-usually-from/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [If you want to cut your own throat, don't come to me for a bandage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/if-you-want-to-cut-your-own-throat-don-t-come-to-me-for-a-bandage/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [In church your grandsire cut his throat; to do the job too long he tarried: he should have had my hearty vote to cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/in-church-your-grandsire-cut-his-throat-to-do-the-job-too-long-he/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/kill-the-pig-cut-his-throat-kill-the-pig-bash-him-in/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [He was deciding whether to cut her throat or love her forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/he-was-deciding-whether-to-cut-her-throat-or-love-her-forever/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I'm sure any vocal teacher that listens to me would rather cut my throat than do anything - I do everything all wrong -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/i-m-sure-any-vocal-teacher-that-listens-to-me-would-rather-cut-my/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) > [Having a sharp tongue with cut your throat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-a-sharp-tongue-with-cut-your-throat/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If there’s somebody loose around here that wants to cut my throat, I wish him luck. What difference does it make? It’s all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/if-there-s-somebody-loose-around-here-that-wants-to-cut-my-throat-i/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“Cut me own throat had drifted off and was doing business with those late night revelers who were too drunk to prevent optimism triumphing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/cut-me-own-throat-had-drifted-off-and-was-doing-business-with-those/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [It is such a cut throat industry where you get knocked down so much and get rejected so much. If you do not back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-o-loughlin/it-is-such-a-cut-throat-industry-where-you-get-knocked-down-so-much/) [Alex O'Loughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-o-loughlin/) > [“First she would try to kill him, but failing this give him food and her body, breast-feed him back to a state of childishness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard-2/first-she-would-try-to-kill-him-but-failing-this-give-him-food-and/) [J.G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard-2/) > [“I'd rather cut my throat," she said. An intriguing thought. But I can do it so much more enjoyably.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-j-smith/i-d-rather-cut-my-throat-she-said-an-intriguing-thought-but-i-can-do/) [L.J. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-j-smith/) ## More by Charles Edward Montague > [The number of medals on an officer's breast varies in inverse proportion to the square of the distance of his duties from the front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/the-number-of-medals-on-an-officer-s-breast-varies-in-inverse/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [A gifted small girl has explained that pins are a great means of saving life, "by not swallowing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/a-gifted-small-girl-has-explained-that-pins-are-a-great-means-of/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [If you are to love mankind, you must not expect too much from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/if-you-are-to-love-mankind-you-must-not-expect-too-much-from-it/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [A lie will easily get you out of a scrape, and yet, strangely and beautifully, repute possesses you when you have taken the scrape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/a-lie-will-easily-get-you-out-of-a-scrape-and-yet-strangely-and/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [Take delight in a thing, or rather in anything, not as a means to some other end, but just because it is what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/take-delight-in-a-thing-or-rather-in-anything-not-as-a-means-to-some/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [“Each word's evocative value or virtue, its individual power of touching springs in the mind and of initiating visions, becomes a treasure to revel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/each-word-s-evocative-value-or-virtue-its-individual-power-of/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [War hath no fury like a non-combatant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/war-hath-no-fury-like-a-non-combatant/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [Burgundy was the winiest wine, the central, essential, and typical wine, the soul and greatest common measure of all the kindly wines of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/burgundy-was-the-winiest-wine-the-central-essential-and-typical-wine/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [A lie will easily get you out of a scrape, and yet, strangely and beautifully, rapture possesses you when you have taken the scrape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/a-lie-will-easily-get-you-out-of-a-scrape-and-yet-strangely-and-2/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [There is no limit to what a man can do so long as he does not care a straw who gets the credit for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/there-is-no-limit-to-what-a-man-can-do-so-long-as-he-does-not-care-a/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [To be amused at what you read - that is the great spring of quotation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/to-be-amused-at-what-you-read-that-is-the-great-spring-of-quotation/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [To be amused by what you read - that is the great spring of happy quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/to-be-amused-by-what-you-read-that-is-the-great-spring-of-happy/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [A lot of our fellow liberals ... seem to me rather to doom themselves to futility in public affairs because the won't recognize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/a-lot-of-our-fellow-liberals-seem-to-me-rather-to-doom-themselves-to/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) > [To possess your soul in patience, with all the skin and some of the flesh burnt off your face and hands, is a job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-edward-montague/to-possess-your-soul-in-patience-with-all-the-skin-and-some-of-the/) [Charles Edward Montague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) [Explore all 15 Charles Edward Montague quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-edward-montague/) ## More Clean quotes > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Whenever we touch nature we get clean. People who have got dirty through too much civilization take a walk in the woods, or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/whenever-we-touch-nature-we-get-clean-people-who-have-got-dirty/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent. The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/we-cannot-go-back-in-time-and-change-the-past-but-we-can-repent-the/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [ I walked all around it \[the Guggenheim Bilbao\] and couldn't find one clear, clean shot. To make things worse, the weather was lousy. Nothing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-polidori/i-walked-all-around-it-the-guggenheim-bilbao-and-couldn-t-find-one/) [Robert Polidori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-polidori/) > [There's nothing harder than making a mellow, clean record. It's really scary. I can see why people would never want to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-segall/there-s-nothing-harder-than-making-a-mellow-clean-record-it-s-really/) [Ty Segall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-segall/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [There is one, and only one solution, and we have almost no time to try it. We must turn all our resources to repairing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mollison/there-is-one-and-only-one-solution-and-we-have-almost-no-time-to-try/) [Bill Mollison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mollison/) > [The sugar maple is remarkable for its clean ankle. The groves of these trees looked like vast forest sheds, their branches stoppingshort at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-sugar-maple-is-remarkable-for-its-clean-ankle-the-groves-of-these/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [America should be leading the world in green and clean solutions, and human rights. We shouldn't be leading the world in wars and incarceration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/america-should-be-leading-the-world-in-green-and-clean-solutions-and/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [At 62, I remain clean and sober and my ponytail remains erect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-nugent/at-62-i-remain-clean-and-sober-and-my-ponytail-remains-erect/) [Ted Nugent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-nugent/) > [Water is a cure-all. Water is everything. 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