The Democratic Government

From "oxymoronica"

If our democracy is to flourish, it must have criticism;
if our government is to function, it must have dissent.

Henry Steele Commager, Freedom, Loyalty, and Dissent, 1954

The historian knows of this inclination of past successful societies, that change is at the heart of endurance. "Reform, that you may preserve," said Thomas Babington Macaulay. In the heart of the patriot is a place for dissent, for "... in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law" (Martin Luther King).

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