One of the greatest attractions of patriotism — it fulfills our worst wishes. In the person of our nation we are able, vicariously, to bully and cheat. Bully and cheat, what’s more, with a feeling that we are profoundly virtuous. Sweet and decorous to murder, lie, torture for the sake of the fatherland.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) English novelist, essayist and critic

Eyeless in Gaza, ch. 17 (1922)
    (Source)