--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was in the 1960s that the left…" description: "\"It was in the 1960s that the left convinced itself that there is something fascistic about patriotism and something perversely \"patriotic\" about runnin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/jonah-goldberg-2339_1960s_it-was-in-the-1960s-that-the-left-convin_3160773.jpg" --- # It was in the 1960s that the left convinced itself that… ![“It was in the 1960s that the left convinced itself that there is something fascistic about patriotism and something perversely "patriotic" about running down America. Anti-Americanism - a stand-in for hatred of Western civilization - became the stuff of sophisticates and intellectuals as never…” quote by Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/jonah-goldberg-2339_1960s_it-was-in-the-1960s-that-the-left-convin_3160773.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/jonah-goldberg-2339_1960s_it-was-in-the-1960s-that-the-left-convin_3160773.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e75/jonah-goldberg-2339_1960s_it-was-in-the-1960s-that-the-left-convin_3160773.jpg) > “It was in the 1960s that the left convinced itself that there is something fascistic about patriotism and something perversely "patriotic" about running down America. Anti-Americanism - a stand-in for hatred of Western civilization - became the stuff of sophisticates and intellectuals as never before. Flag burners became the truest "patriots" because dissent - not just from partisan politics, but the American project itself - became the highest virtue.” [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Patriotism is portrayed as both dangerous and noble, with dissent framed as the highest form of patriotism. **In simple terms:** Patriotism and dissent are paradoxically linked. Key Takeaway Question the narratives around loyalty and criticism. Themes politics identity patriotism Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political debates - media analysis - public protests - academic discourse Key Concepts nationalism intellectual critique Questions to Reflect On - What does true patriotism mean to you? - When is dissent constructive? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on dissent can undermine genuine national unity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Americanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/americanism/) [Anti american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anti-american/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Dissent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissent/) [Flags](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flags/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Partisan politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partisan-politics/) [Patriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriot/) [Patriotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotic/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) [Western civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western-civilization/) ## Related quotes > [My anti-Americanism has become almost uncontrollable. It has possessed me, like a disease. It rises up in my throat like acid reflux, that fashionable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-drabble/my-anti-americanism-has-become-almost-uncontrollable-it-has-possessed/) [Margaret Drabble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-drabble/) > [“Anti-Americanism is in the process of being consecrated into an ideology. The term 'anti-American' is usually used by the American establishment to discredit and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/anti-americanism-is-in-the-process-of-being-consecrated-into-an/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [Anti-Americanism is as old as the Republic--a historical constant, which is only remotely related to specific American behavior. So what is new? Andrei Markovits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-joffe/anti-americanism-is-as-old-as-the-republic-a-historical-constant/) Josef Joffe > [“Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has several times made statements to the effect that we Europeans should not cultivate a superficial anti-Americanism. But mine isn't superficial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/chancellor-gerhard-schr-der-has-several-times-made-statements-to-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The world is starving for American leadership. But America has an anti-war president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boehner/the-world-is-starving-for-american-leadership-but-america-has-an-anti/) [John Boehner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boehner/) > [“In 1913, the Anti-Saloon League attempted a constitutional amendment prohibiting liquor, but the movement didn't gain momentum until World War I, thanks to America's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/in-1913-the-anti-saloon-league-attempted-a-constitutional-amendment/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [Those mad at me, writing emails angrily, Im not anti-America, America is anti-me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lowkey/those-mad-at-me-writing-emails-angrily-im-not-anti-america-america-is/) Lowkey > [I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out, are they pro-America…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-bachmann/i-wish-the-american-media-would-take-a-great-look-at-the-views-of-the/) [Michele Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michele-bachmann/) > [German leftists have still not understood the degree to which Russian President Vladimir Putting has drifted to the right domestically. Now, insightful observers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-august-winkler/german-leftists-have-still-not-understood-the-degree-to-which-russian/) [Heinrich August Winkler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-august-winkler/) > [Anti-Americanism is often the product of limits on free speech, education systems that promote bias and the practice of some leaders of saying one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-blinken/anti-americanism-is-often-the-product-of-limits-on-free-speech/) [Antony Blinken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-blinken/) > [Canadians were the first anti-Americans, and the best. Canadian anti-Americanism, just as the country's French-English duality, has for two centuries been the central buttress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-granatstein/canadians-were-the-first-anti-americans-and-the-best-canadian-anti/) Jack Granatstein > [Why ... do the myths of America the Hateful take such powerful hold? Because anti-Americanism provides a useful emotional function which goes beyond logic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gove/why-do-the-myths-of-america-the-hateful-take-such-powerful-hold/) [Michael Gove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gove/) > [I have absolutely no doubt that there is an intense anti-Americanism in all Western Europe, and I think the reason for that is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-have-absolutely-no-doubt-that-there-is-an-intense-anti-americanism/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Without an ugly America to loathe, there is no automatic esteem to receive. Thus liberalism's unrelenting current of anti-Americanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelby-steele/without-an-ugly-america-to-loathe-there-is-no-automatic-esteem-to/) [Shelby Steele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelby-steele/) > [Given the level of anti-Americanism in the world, given the level of frustration with the United States throughout the Muslim world, you've got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/given-the-level-of-anti-americanism-in-the-world-given-the-level-of/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) ## More by Jonah Goldberg > [Not reassuring when weathermen say 'Today will be terrible but don't worry it won't be as terrible as tomorrow or Friday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/not-reassuring-when-weathermen-say-today-will-be-terrible-but-don-t/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [Are you a producer or a looter? If diversity were always and everywhere good we would be clamoring for more midgets in the NBA.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/are-you-a-producer-or-a-looter-if-diversity-were-always-and/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [You can make a very good argument that society would be much worse off if you let 10 rapists and murderers free rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/you-can-make-a-very-good-argument-that-society-would-be-much-worse/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [“The nasty racism that infused the progressive eugenics of Margaret Sanger and others has largely melted away. But liberal fascists are still racist in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/the-nasty-racism-that-infused-the-progressive-eugenics-of-margaret/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [Liberals are Nazis, and Nazis are liberals. 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Cowardice is a failing of character. Appeasement is a failure of policy. Stalin appeased Hitler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/i-t-is-simply-wrong-to-confuse-cowardice-with-appeasement-cowardice/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [Social distinctions tend to matter only at your own level and above.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/social-distinctions-tend-to-matter-only-at-your-own-level-and-above/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [The logical upshot of liberalism's hatred of hypocrisy is that it is better for the liar to champion lying, the glutton to advocate gluttony,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/the-logical-upshot-of-liberalism-s-hatred-of-hypocrisy-is-that-it-is/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [“No nation influenced American thinking more profoundly than Germany, W.E.B. DuBois, Charles Beard, Walter Weyl, Richard Ely, Richard Ely, Nicholas Murray Butler, and countless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/no-nation-influenced-american-thinking-more-profoundly-than-germany-w/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [In Europe and America alike, voters increasingly recognize that the benefits of the green revolution aren't worth the costs, particularly when the revolutionaries don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/in-europe-and-america-alike-voters-increasingly-recognize-that-the/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [“Tom Friedman says China is so awesome they make kosher pigs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/tom-friedman-says-china-is-so-awesome-they-make-kosher-pigs/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [Facts are mere speed bumps on the road to lefty moral outrage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/facts-are-mere-speed-bumps-on-the-road-to-lefty-moral-outrage/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) > [There was no intellectual movement in American history called social Darwinism. The people who were supposedly the leaders of the social Darwinist movement never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/there-was-no-intellectual-movement-in-american-history-called-social/) [Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) [Explore all 171 Jonah Goldberg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/) ## More 1960s quotes > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [ \[In the 1960s\]...you could take LSD but you couldn't wear a pantsuit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsey-johnson/in-the-1960s-you-could-take-lsd-but-you-couldn-t-wear-a-pantsuit/) [Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsey-johnson/) > [Is it a coincidence that stories from the private life became more popular just as the grand hope for public redemption through revolution was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/is-it-a-coincidence-that-stories-from-the-private-life-became-more/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [I think the general anxiety of the 1960s - '70s spawned our interest in the living dead. When people worry about the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-the-general-anxiety-of-the-1960s-70s-spawned-our-interest-in/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“A friend once told me a story about a former Black Panther leader in a Midwest community who in the 1960s had his phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/a-friend-once-told-me-a-story-about-a-former-black-panther-leader-in/) [Luis J. Rodríguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [Under the system that we now have to nominate presidential candidates, for instance, I would prefer that we have a system that is closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beschloss/under-the-system-that-we-now-have-to-nominate-presidential-candidates/) [Michael Beschloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beschloss/) > [My son Bill, who came to me in 1960-he was 14 then, quoted the old parable to me: "It is not by their words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/my-son-bill-who-came-to-me-in-1960-he-was-14-then-quoted-the-old/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Much of the art of the 1960s, from body art to video and direct performance, was concerned with similar issues. And then there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valie-export/much-of-the-art-of-the-1960s-from-body-art-to-video-and-direct/) [Valie Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valie-export/) > [I went through college in the 1960s without having any idea that I was going to have to make a living. When I graduated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-went-through-college-in-the-1960s-without-having-any-idea-that-i/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [“At the beginning of a decade when everything was beginning to seem possible, nothing seemed impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/at-the-beginning-of-a-decade-when-everything-was-beginning-to-seem/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) Browse all 486 1960s quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was in the 1960s that the left convinced itself that there is something fascistic about patriotism and something perversely \"patriotic\" about running down America. Anti-Americanism - a stand-in for hatred of Western civilization - became the stuff of sophisticates and intellectuals as never before. 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