I had said, if there was any valuable difference between being an American and being a monarchist it lay in the theory that the American could decide for himself what is patriotic and what isn't; whereas the king could dictate the monarchist's patriotism for him -- a decision that was final and must be accepted by the victim; that in my belief I was the only person in America who was privileged to construct my patriotism for me.
They said, "Suppose the country is entering upon a war -- where do you stand then? Do you arrogate to yourself the privilege of going your own way in the matter, in the face of the nation?"
"Yes," I said, "that is my position. If I thought it an unrighteous war I would say so. If I were invited to shoulder a musket and march under that flag, I would decline. I would not voluntarily march under this country's flag, nor any other, when it was my private judgment that the country was in the wrong. If the country obliged me to shoulder the musket I could not help myself, but I would never volunteer. To volunteer would be the act of a traitor to myself, and consequently traitor to my country. If I refused to volunteer, I should be called a traitor, I am well aware of that -- but that would not make me a traitor. The unanimous vote of the entire population could not make me traitor. I should still be a patriot and, in my opinion, the only one in the whole country."
(Dictated January 1906 for the Autobiography of Mark Twain.)
No comments:
Post a Comment