Best Quote Ever

[malebolgefun]

“I offer neither pay, nor quarters, nor food; I offer only hunger, thirst, forced marches, battles and death. Let him who loves his country with his heart, and not merely with his lips, follow me

Comments

[xxfalsemirror]

But the question is is that right? Should people march blindly out of love for something that really is just not tangible and may give them nothing in return? Both are forms of extremism in their own right. In the case of your example (which I don't really know), it isn't right for a person to only think of themselves and not in terms of love for anything other than their own selfishness. But is sacrifice the best option to counter that?

[malebolgefun]

But they aren't asking for anything in return, and that is the whole point. They are marching blindly for the love of their country and the love of their peoples which makes them so amazing. They aren't trying to create their ideal nation (in the case of the quote, the Risorgimento aka the unification of Italy) for the sake of benefitting themselves personally because they think that they will make more money or have more power, but because they want to see their peoples as a whole become great and unified again, and to stop their fighting and reconize that they are all brothers and sisters toghether.

[xxfalsemirror]

Eh, for me I don't see marching blindly as forming a "brothers and sisters" kind of thing. I think a person who does so is focusing their thoughts entirely on one idea is just tunnel vision. Brotherhood may be part of that idea, but in that case all it is is a side effect. To devote yourself entirely to one cause is dangerous, even if it works out well (the unification of Italy), because it isn't always that beneficial. Look at Hitler. Personally, I don't believe anyone would ask for nothing in return. In the case of (I believe) all of these situations they share the theme of a hope for a better life - for themselves. They aren't asking for nothing in return out of any sort of pure love, but out of the idea that their love might be reciprocated in some way, in either the sense of a protector or the sense of a counterpart. I am in a semi-cynical mood right now, though.