#loyaltytest — Public Fediverse posts

A quotation from Henry Commager

Who among American heroes could meet their [loyalty] tests, who would be cleared by their committees? Not Washington, who was a rebel. Not Jefferson, who wrote that all men are created equal and whose motto was “rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God.” Not Garrison, who publicly burned the Constitution; or Wendell Phillips, who spoke for the underprivileged everywhere and counted himself a philosophical anarchist; not Seward of the Higher Law or Sumner of racial equality. Not Lincoln, who admonished us to have malice toward none, charity for all; or Wilson, who warned that our flag was “a flag of liberty of opinion as well as of political liberty”; or Justice Holmes, who said that our Constitution is an experiment and that while that experiment is being made “we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe and believe to be fraught with death.”

Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1947-07), “Who Is Loyal to America?” sec. 2, Harper’s Magazine, Vol. 195, No. 1168

More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…

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Ahead of today’s meeting w top #military leaders, #DonaldTrump confirmed that it will be #loyaltytest to him: ‘I’ll be meeting with #generals and w #admirals and w leaders and if I don’t like somebody, I’ll #fire them right on the spot.’” Hegseth #Trump rambling but unmistakably clear directive. Together, tried 2 #rebrand #Pentagon #mission and reorient armed forces toward what Trump repeatedly called “war from within.” #Democracy #constitution #loyalty #authoritarian #constitution #dictatorship