Quoth Jefferson?

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism."

This is a quote I've seen quite a few times over the past couple of years, and always attributed to Thomas Jefferson. I did a little preliminary surfing prior to writing this post and was surprised to find this at Monticello.org. Apparently he never said it. The link supplied by Monticello.org is to a little article which supposes that the quote is attributable first to a guy named Howard Zinn in support of his opposition to the War on Terror, circa 2002. Others say it originates with the newly appointed president of the ACLU, Nadine Strossen, in 1991. There are even some versions of the quote that can be found as far back as the 1960's.

Now on to the original point of the post.

Is dissent really the highest form of patriotism? Is all that is necessary to attain the highest personification of patriotism to simply say "George Bush sucks," or "Bill Clinton sucks?" I should hope not.

Can one really express one's unrivaled patriotism by burning a US soldier in effigy?

How about by taking down the pants to half-mast in front of women and children and laying some cable on the American flag? I tried finding the picture of this event, but was unable, though I myself have seen it... But I guess you wouldn't want to see it anyway. Gross.

I prefer (though you may disagree) to believe that patriotism has its roots in stories like
this one: Rocky Versace
And this one: Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart
And this one: Paul Ray Smith

You get my point.