--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love of country cannot be a supersized…" description: "\"Love of country cannot be a supersized version of individual narcissism. True love of country-of this country-is love of our children, of a creed that ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d8/eric-liu-9463_better-life_love-of-country-cannot-be-a-supersized-v_1230570.jpg" --- # Love of country cannot be a supersized version of… ![“Love of country cannot be a supersized version of individual narcissism. True love of country-of this country-is love of our children, of a creed that promises them a better life before it promises us anything, and embraces the sacrifices needed to make that better life. True love of country is…” quote by Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d8/eric-liu-9463_better-life_love-of-country-cannot-be-a-supersized-v_1230570.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d8/eric-liu-9463_better-life_love-of-country-cannot-be-a-supersized-v_1230570.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d8/eric-liu-9463_better-life_love-of-country-cannot-be-a-supersized-v_1230570.jpg) > “Love of country cannot be a supersized version of individual narcissism. True love of country-of this country-is love of our children, of a creed that promises them a better life before it promises us anything, and embraces the sacrifices needed to make that better life. True love of country is giving ourselves to a cause and a purpose larger than ourselves. And that cause is to make liberty worth having, to make the pursuit of happiness deeper than the quest for personal pleasure, and to leave a legacy of progress and possibility.” [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True patriotism is selfless, focusing on future generations and collective liberty rather than personal gain. **In simple terms:** Patriotism means caring for future generations over self. Key Takeaway Prioritize community over self‑interest. Themes civic duty generational responsibility liberty Mood inspirational serious Type political ethical When to use this quote - political activism - community service - policy advocacy Key Concepts selflessness legacy public good Questions to Reflect On - What sacrifices are you willing to make for the common good? - How can we balance personal freedom with civic duty? A Different Perspective May overlook individual rights concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-life/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Citizenship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizenship/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Country Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-giving-1717645/) [Country love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-love/) [Creeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creeds/) [Deeper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeper/) [Embrace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embrace/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Happiness Deep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness-deep-223718/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Individual Narcissism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual-narcissism-3804941/) [Leave A Legacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave-a-legacy/) [Legacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legacy/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Narcissism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcissism/) [Narcissism True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcissism-true-3804940/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Our children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-children/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Promise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/promise/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Pursuit of happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit-of-happiness/) [Quests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quests/) [Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice/) [True life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-life/) [Versions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/versions/) ## Related quotes > [Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country and giving it to the rich people of a poor country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/foreign-aid-is-taking-money-from-the-poor-people-of-a-rich-country/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Honor your country by giving all to protect your people and the land...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-tait/honor-your-country-by-giving-all-to-protect-your-people-and-the-land/) [Iain Tait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-tait/) > [I started Transcendental Meditation in 1973 and have not missed a single meditation ever since. 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Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-k-rich/) > [To love country means to rise above I am because I am. It is to recognize that I am because we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/to-love-country-means-to-rise-above-i-am-because-i-am-it-is-to/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [I love country music, blues, and punk, and one day I might make those kinds of records.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesha/i-love-country-music-blues-and-punk-and-one-day-i-might-make-those/) [Kesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesha/) > [“Patriotism is love of country. But you can't love your country by loving your tribe or party. You can't love your country by putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-johnson-jr/patriotism-is-love-of-country-but-you-can-t-love-your-country-by/) [Henry Johnson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-johnson-jr/) > [Get to know the poor in your country. Love them. Serve them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/get-to-know-the-poor-in-your-country-love-them-serve-them/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [If I wanted to be a pop singer, I would have done that 20 years ago. I love country music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chely-wright/if-i-wanted-to-be-a-pop-singer-i-would-have-done-that-20-years-ago-i/) [Chely Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chely-wright/) > [Rock me mama like a wagon wheel. rock me mama anyway you feel. heyyy, mama rock me. rock me mama like the wind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-messinger/rock-me-mama-like-a-wagon-wheel-rock-me-mama-anyway-you-feel-heyyy/) [Spencer Messinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-messinger/) > [I wanna be your girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyshia-soshycki/i-wanna-be-your-girl/) [Alyshia Soshycki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyshia-soshycki/) > [“Some wars are about bombing. For the people of the Baltics, this war was about believing. In 1991, after fifty years of brutal occupation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/some-wars-are-about-bombing-for-the-people-of-the-baltics-this-war/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [For me, and this may not be everybody, but because I do love country music so much, there's such a feeling of home in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrett-hedlund/for-me-and-this-may-not-be-everybody-but-because-i-do-love-country/) [Garrett Hedlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrett-hedlund/) ## More by Eric Liu > [“There was an omnivorous intellect that won him the family sobriquet of Walking Encyclopedia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/there-was-an-omnivorous-intellect-that-won-him-the-family-sobriquet/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Have you ever watched someone become American? Last week, at a national citizenship conference I organize, thirty immigrants from 17 countries swore an oath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/have-you-ever-watched-someone-become-american-last-week-at-a-national/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [It turns out umpires and judges are not robots or traffic cameras, inertly monitoring deviations from a fixed zone of the permissible. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/it-turns-out-umpires-and-judges-are-not-robots-or-traffic-cameras/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [What we should celebrate more than diversity is what we do with it. How do we bring everyone in the tent and create something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/what-we-should-celebrate-more-than-diversity-is-what-we-do-with-it/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [“Far too many Americans are illiterate in power — what it is, how it operates and why some people have it. As a result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/far-too-many-americans-are-illiterate-in-power-what-it-is-how-it/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [At the heart of our public morality is the idea that he who gives generously is most virtuous and morally praiseworthy; that there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/at-the-heart-of-our-public-morality-is-the-idea-that-he-who-gives/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [A basic assumption shapes most Americans’ mindset about labor: the belief that the death of unions isn’t my problem because I’m not in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/a-basic-assumption-shapes-most-americans-mindset-about-labor-the/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Americans need to call on Boomers, in their next act onstage, to behave like grown-ups. And there is no better way for them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/americans-need-to-call-on-boomers-in-their-next-act-onstage-to-behave/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Here's a proposal, offered only partly in jest: no resident of the United States, whether born here or abroad, should get to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/here-s-a-proposal-offered-only-partly-in-jest-no-resident-of-the/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [Like the 'little emperors' of one-child China, too many Boomers were taught early that the world was made (or saved) for their comfort and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/like-the-little-emperors-of-one-child-china-too-many-boomers-were/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [We're all better off...when we're all better off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/we-re-all-better-off-when-we-re-all-better-off/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [In the end no segregationist scheme has withstood the force of a simple idea: equality under law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/in-the-end-no-segregationist-scheme-has-withstood-the-force-of-a/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [From the right, you get demagogues shouting about brown-skinned anchor babies and clamoring to deport the undocumented. From the left, you get advocacy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/from-the-right-you-get-demagogues-shouting-about-brown-skinned-anchor/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [You want to defend citizenship? Don't persecute or isolate those without papers. Just live like a citizen. That'd be a first-class way to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/you-want-to-defend-citizenship-don-t-persecute-or-isolate-those/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) > [In the end, a new Americanization movement can't just be about listing our privileges and immunities, which we catalog in our laws. It also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-liu/in-the-end-a-new-americanization-movement-can-t-just-be-about-listing/) [Eric Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) [Explore all 72 Eric Liu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-liu/) ## More Better life quotes > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [A faithfully kept program of savings and conservative investments can give you more money and a better life than that of your neighbors who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-bryant-quinn/a-faithfully-kept-program-of-savings-and-conservative-investments-can/) [Jane Bryant Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-bryant-quinn/) > [“There is no greater force for change than people inspired to live a better life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/there-is-no-greater-force-for-change-than-people-inspired-to-live-a/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [If you want to live a meaningfully better life, you're going to have to make the dangerous choice to dissent. A life lived meaningfully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/if-you-want-to-live-a-meaningfully-better-life-you-re-going-to-have/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“I've know Bruce Wayne for over 50 years, and Ive kept an eye on you your whole life. You're not Bruce's clone, you're his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-timm/i-ve-know-bruce-wayne-for-over-50-years-and-ive-kept-an-eye-on-you/) [Bruce Timm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-timm/) > [TIPS FOR A BETTER LIFE.. 1. Live without pretending. 2. Love without depending. 3. Listen without defending. 4. Speak without offending.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/tips-for-a-better-life-1-live-without-pretending-2-love-without/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [There is always the possibility of a better life with every change that we face, but sometimes we have to look hard for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowick/there-is-always-the-possibility-of-a-better-life-with-every-change/) [David Bowick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowick/) > [So in the near future, two or three years, people in Kyrgyzstan will experience a better life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurmanbek-bakiyev/so-in-the-near-future-two-or-three-years-people-in-kyrgyzstan-will/) [Kurmanbek Bakiyev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurmanbek-bakiyev/) > [I want to make sure that I fulfill the aspirations of the Gabonese people: to have access to a better life, job opportunities, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-bongo-ondimba/i-want-to-make-sure-that-i-fulfill-the-aspirations-of-the-gabonese/) [Ali Bongo Ondimba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-bongo-ondimba/) > [We will strive to make Taiwan a better place and enable our people to live better lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chen-shui-bian/we-will-strive-to-make-taiwan-a-better-place-and-enable-our-people-to/) [Chen Shui-bian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chen-shui-bian/) > [The slums are not a place of despair. Its inhabitants are all working towards a better life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikas-swarup/the-slums-are-not-a-place-of-despair-its-inhabitants-are-all-working/) [Vikas Swarup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikas-swarup/) > [I see history as really cyclical in terms of the intense idealism, and the desire to create a better life outside of societal norms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/i-see-history-as-really-cyclical-in-terms-of-the-intense-idealism-and/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [If I died Some people will be soo happy and though a party,Other will regret what they had said to me,and people who really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine/if-i-died-some-people-will-be-soo-happy-and-though-a-party-other-will/) [Jasmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine/) > [There is no more important task in a democracy than resolving the differences among people and finding a course of action that will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mcnamara/there-is-no-more-important-task-in-a-democracy-than-resolving-the/) [Robert McNamara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mcnamara/) > [There isn't any wall, however high, however wide or however big, whatever it is made from, that can bar you from achieving a better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-luis-rodriguez-zapatero/there-isn-t-any-wall-however-high-however-wide-or-however-big/) [Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-luis-rodriguez-zapatero/) [Browse all 925 Better life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love of country cannot be a supersized version of individual narcissism. 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