--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men in authority will always think that…" description: "\"Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find crit..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/henry-steele-commager-16894_authority_men-in-authority-will-always-think-that_2881935.jpg" --- # Men in authority will always think that criticism of their… ![“Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive.” quote by Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/henry-steele-commager-16894_authority_men-in-authority-will-always-think-that_2881935.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/henry-steele-commager-16894_authority_men-in-authority-will-always-think-that_2881935.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/745/henry-steele-commager-16894_authority_men-in-authority-will-always-think-that_2881935.jpg) > “Men in authority will always think that criticism of their policies is dangerous. They will always equate their policies with patriotism, and find criticism subversive.” [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authorities often label policy criticism as unpatriotic, equating dissent with disloyalty. **In simple terms:** Critics are seen as unpatriotic. Key Takeaway Question patriotism claims. Themes politics power criticism Mood defiant thoughtful Type political analytical When to use this quote - journalism - activism - public debate Key Concepts authoritarianism nationalism Questions to Reflect On - When is criticism patriotic? - How to voice dissent safely? A Different Perspective Some criticism can be constructive, not subversive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authority/) [Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism/) [Criticism Subversive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/criticism-subversive-3998845/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Men Authority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-authority-1378449/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Patriotism Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism-criticism-3431862/) [Policies Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policies-patriotism-3998844/) [Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy/) [Subversive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subversive/) [Think Criticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-criticism-406588/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Patriotism without criticism has no head; criticism without patriotism has no heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-c-guelzo/patriotism-without-criticism-has-no-head-criticism-without-patriotism/) [Allen C. Guelzo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-c-guelzo/) > [“Violent men, and men in authority over violent men, and the broader public that authorises those men, are not yet shamed by the harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-lakeman/violent-men-and-men-in-authority-over-violent-men-and-the-broader/) [Lee Lakeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-lakeman/) > [Men of authority have employed all the destructive agents around them to promote their own personal interests at the sacrifice of every just, honorable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-white-geary/men-of-authority-have-employed-all-the-destructive-agents-around-them/) [John White Geary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-white-geary/) > [I leave everything to the young men. 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Again, and in defense of the pack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/revive-the-value-of-seasoned-stoical-masculinity-in-education-men-in/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [To think of criticism as a conversation is to think of it as a social act, something that puts you in touch with other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlene-croce/to-think-of-criticism-as-a-conversation-is-to-think-of-it-as-a-social/) [Arlene Croce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlene-croce/) > [I think where the criticism of videogames come from is where videogames are just Xeroxes of films, and when you get a film adaptation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/i-think-where-the-criticism-of-videogames-come-from-is-where-2/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [I think where the criticism of videogames come from is where videogames are just Xeroxes of films, and when you get a film adaptation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-wright/i-think-where-the-criticism-of-videogames-come-from-is-where/) [Edgar Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-wright/) > [England has been praised for turning out intelligent, adult pictures whereas Hollywood has been severely censured for turning out junk. I don't think criticism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-garfield/england-has-been-praised-for-turning-out-intelligent-adult-pictures/) [John Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-garfield/) > [What I think I've learned is that you're never going to get it all right, and you can't obsess about having a fact wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/what-i-think-i-ve-learned-is-that-you-re-never-going-to-get-it-all/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) ## More by Henry Steele Commager > [It's awfully hard to be the son of a great man and also of a half-crazy woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/it-s-awfully-hard-to-be-the-son-of-a-great-man-and-also-of-a-half/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [America was born of revolt, flourished in dissent, became great through experimentation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/america-was-born-of-revolt-flourished-in-dissent-became-great-through/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [The American people...have a stake in non-conformity. 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It knows from the non-conformist, from the eccentric, have come many of the great ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/a-free-society-cherishes-nonconformity-it-knows-from-the-non/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [History is organized memory, and the organization is all important!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/history-is-organized-memory-and-the-organization-is-all-important/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [It seems fair to say that while the moral standards of the nineteenth century persisted almost unchanged into the twentieth, moral practices changed sharply,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/it-seems-fair-to-say-that-while-the-moral-standards-of-the-nineteenth/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [ In the long run \[censorship\] will create a generation incapable of appreciating the difference between independence of thought and subservience. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-steele-commager/in-the-long-run-censorship-will-create-a-generation-incapable-of/) [Henry Steele Commager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-steele-commager/) > [History, we can confidently assert, is useful in the sense that art and music, poetry and flowers, religion and philosophy are useful. 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