A Steady Descent from Dissent

Veterans protest the Vietnam War.

Democracy fails without protecting dissent.

“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body; it calls attention to the development of an unhealthy state of things. If it is heeded in time, danger may be averted; if it is suppressed, a fatal distemper may develop.” – Winston Churchill, 1939.

Ironic, isn’t it –to start off a post about a core value of free expression, here in the United States, with a quote from a leader across the pond in England? A man who, while speaking true in words, was nothing if not a hypocrite in actions.

Though regardless of the imperialistic views and hypocritical dichotomy of a man such as Churchill, he was certainly right in his quote that day. Criticism, while not agreeable, is absolutely necessary in maintaining freedom, liberty, and order, both demographically and ideologically; such is the idea of protecting dissent.

To protect dissent is something that is fundamental here in the United States. As a US citizen, you are not just allowed, but entitled to the ability to protest, criticize, condemn, or even denounce the government. What many fail to see about such a foundational value of free expression is that it isn’t a right, but a duty you owe not just to yourself, but to every fellow citizen around you. Without our voices we are nothing, and without our opinions, tyranny is inevitable.

Today however, we live in an age of suppression if nothing else. Voices and actions, ideas and values, all being wrongfully taken or restrained from us as United States citizens. As a nation, we do not have a perfect track record in following our own rules, yet that is exactly why we must speak out and criticize the government, to “redress grievances” in the first amendment’s own words.

It is not your place to lead if not a leader, but if you have the ability to use your voice in the many different forms it comes in, or suggest, criticize and correct, you must.

So where would we be without the protection of dissent? How would our country operate? Well the obvious answer is to look to the very country we broke away from 250 years ago. The exact aforementioned country in this article. A land of recently growing hypocrisy and injustice, and not by ideology, but by law.

In England today, people live their lives without any first amendment to protect them. They have no separation of church and state; no right to protest however you wish; and most importantly, no right to freedom of the press, nor a right to criticize the government.

As of this past year, England has hit a landmark in their descent into unprotected dissent. Daily, thirty or so citizens of England are being arrested and taken to local jails and prisons for comments they’ve made online. That’s nearly 12,000 people a year, all arrested for tweets, facebook posts, or the like.

Did these citizens riot? Attack? Threaten? Assault? No. That would be far too simple by England’s standards. Instead, these people have committed the unforgivable act of criticizing their lovely country; of inciting violence by calling their governors jackasses.

Some may see this article as inflammatory, and that’s perfectly fine, so long as you understand the message I intend to convey.

It is my opinion that England is and has been slipping into what I interpret as madness, not a fact. I understand that across the pond, they do not share the same constitution as we, nor the same freedoms and values. All the more, protecting those freedoms and values should be of utmost priority to all US citizens. If we do not continue to fight against injustice, speak out against war, and utilize our voices as Americans to their maximum capability, democracy will fail.