Time & Perspective Quote by Vic Snyder

Patriotism is supposed to be the glue; Vic Snyder points to how often it’s been used as a bludgeon. The line works because it refuses the comforting idea that abuses of “love of country” are rare mistakes. “Abundant examples” is a quiet accusation: this isn’t an outlier problem, it’s a recurring political tactic with a track record. By opening with “Unfortunately,” Snyder signals reluctant realism rather than culture-war glee, framing the warning as civic maintenance, not ideological theater.

The sentence’s real target is the move that turns disagreement into disloyalty. “Used to hurt” is deliberately broad, capturing everything from social shaming and job loss to surveillance, blacklisting, and legal suppression. And “those who express views” matters: he’s not defending abstract dissent in a philosophy seminar, but actual people who speak in public and pay a price. The phrase “in disagreement with that of the majority” adds the crucial democratic sting. Majorities, Snyder implies, don’t just win elections; they can also claim the flag and make minority opinion sound like sabotage.

Contextually, it echoes a distinctly American pattern: the Sedition Act era, Civil War-era loyalty tests, World War I crackdowns, McCarthyism, post-9/11 suspicion. Snyder, a politician, isn’t pretending patriotism is fake; he’s warning that it’s powerful enough to be weaponized. The subtext is a civic dare: if your patriotism can’t tolerate dissent, it’s not devotion to a country’s ideals, it’s allegiance to a crowd.