Patriotism is Indeed a Double-Edged Sword

Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war
in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor,
for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword.

It both emboldens the blood,
just as it narrows the mind . . .

And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch
and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed,
the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry.

Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear
and blinded with patriotism,
will offer up all of their rights unto the leader, and gladly so.

How do I know?
For this is what I have done.
And I am Caesar.

Julius Caesar used these tactics when he overthrew the Republic of Rome and turned it into the Roman Empire with Julius Caesar as its first dictator.