The patriot movement is a collection of various conservative, independent, largely rural, small-government, social movements in the United States that include organized militia members, tax protesters, sovereign or state citizens, quasi-Christian apocalypticists, or combinations thereof. Adherents describe the movement as centered on a belief that individual liberties are in jeopardy due to unconstitutional actions taken by elected government officials, appointed bureaucrats, and some special interest groups outside of government, to illegally accumulate power. Journalists and researchers have associated the patriot movement with the right-wing militia movement and some in the movement with illegal acts of violence.
Major events in America which alarm or inspire the Patriot Movement include the 1993 Waco siege and 1992 Ruby Ridge siege. After declining from 1996 to 2008, the number of patriot groups has increased dramatically following the election of Barack Obama to the presidency. The movement's iconography centers on themes relating to the American Revolution, such as the colonial Minuteman, the 13-star "Old Glory" flag, Uncle Sam, and the painting titled "The Spirit of '76".
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Famous quotes containing the words patriot and/or movement:
“Life springs from death and from the graves of patriot men and women spring living nations.... They think that they have pacified Ireland. They think that they have purchased half of us and intimidated the other half. They think that they have foreseen everything, think they have provided against everything; but the fools, the fools, the fools, they have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves Ireland unfree shall never be at peace.”
—Patrick Henry Pearse (1879–1916)
“... contemporary black women felt they were asked to choose between a black movement that primarily served the interests of black male patriarchs and a women’s movement which primarily served the interests of racist white women.”
—bell hooks (b. c. 1955)