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)