They have also justified their legal and illegal actions, from peaceful protests to breaking into and seizing buildings, destroying private property and even causing physical harm. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to follow "Pray With Your Feet" and receive notifications of new posts by email. We point fingers in judgment without any conviction of decency, civility or love. Just as historian Alan Wood said in his "Preface" to Limits to autocracy (1995), " while I recognize the dangers to truth of relating scholarship to life, I also believe that we who live by the pen bear some measure of obligation, however tenuous, In resurrecting, reeducating and celebrating our First Amendment rights, I would encourage all Americans to again honor Religious Freedom Day this week on Saturday, Jan. 16 the anniversary date of the 1786 passage of Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. Now that you are American citizens, you are a part of that history and can engage in this time-honored institution. Instead, they erroneously label these opposing views hate speech. There are even some conservatives who view certain comments as hate speech. But the Left and even the conservative is hard-pressed to come up with a working definition of hate speech. As the historian Howard Zinn said, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism." Too often these patriots have been blacklisted, beaten, killed, or jailed. () google_color_text = "000000"; "This is not the first time in American history when patriotism has been . Jefferson may not have literally said, "Dissent is the highest form of patriotism," but I think it's fair to say that he and the other founders believed it was indeed a high form of patriotism. Law professor Jim Lindgren of The Volokh Conspiracy has traced the possible origin of this saying back as far as the 11 November 1984 obituary of pacifist activist Dorothy Hewitt Hutchinson in the Philadelphia Inquirer, quoting a 1965 interview. They will even stifle, suppress and drown out their own should they stray from the ideological line and dare to question- that is, dissent from- the liberal consensus. They quote Dr. Johnson out of . Siblings of U.S. citizens must wait more than 10 years. It's crucial for people to know and understand their First Amendment right to demonstrate. It is an elitist attitude that they- and only they- know what is best or the correct course of action. Dissent is the Highest Form of Patriotism. We've abandoned loving our neighbors for being indifferent. Here's What We Found. What they may not realize is what many of you already know: There are incredible wait times for those wishing to become citizens. Protest alone is no more patriotic than, say, the general act of fighting in a war is. I wonder, how many native-born citizens would be so patriotic, how many would remain in this country, if they experienced a fraction of what many immigrants suffer to be here. google_ad_height = 600; Close enough. google_color_url = "008000"; Moore to the Point - This Is the Adults in Charge? Remember, it was many of the same founders who established both the First Amendment and a decade later also enacted the Sedition Act of 1798, which made it a crime for American citizens to print, utter, or publish any false, scandalous, and malicious writing about the government. Imagine that: a pre-eminent climate expert who may disagree with the liberal orthodoxy is silenced by a free press. Popular Science followed suit. Achebe's definition of a true 'patriot' is one 'who will always demand the highest standards of his country and accept nothing but the best from his people. Thinking about it, the Left has actually reverted to an infantile or kindergarten mode of thinking. Expressing doubts may lead to questions, and those questions may lead to answers that inconvenience the established narrative. And what about politicians? At its core, the First Amendment clearly prohibits Congress from making any law hindering the right of the people to peaceably assemble for any of myriad of reasons, including protests. Dissent comes in a close second. And thinking they are true patriots, they often when not outright banning certain speech or intimidating certain speakers, revert to stating that some speech that breaks from their orthodoxy is problematic. You know they think this when they start labeling the opposing speech with the -ist suffix. No matter, as long as it is permitted as one of the fundamental attributes of a free society. Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia Ron SparksSolution Architect, Author, Poet Home Fiction Non-Fiction Poetry Books by Ron Sparks My Cancer Search 14. If what your country is doing seems to you practically and morally wrong, is dissent the highest form of patriotism? For we Americans know the truth of Martin Luther Kings words: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Injustice to one is a threat to justice for all. That is why Rep. French Hill, R-Ark., said of the U.S. Capitol riot this last week, "It's the Founding Fathers' worst fear." google_color_url = "008000"; For many of these people, there is no line for them to get into. Chuck Norris is the star of more than 20 films and the long-running TV series "Walker, Texas Ranger." Zing! Nancy Pelosi, the liberal Democratic Representative from San Francisco, wrote early this morning in a special USA Today editorial that those protesting against government run health care are "un-American". But one would be hard-pressed to see safe spaces popping up or trigger warnings issued or demonstrations against the appearance of liberal speakers. Injustice to one is a threat to justice for all. It is in vain to say, you may canvass measures. If Dissent is the Highest Form of Patriotism, Why Are There Dissenters Against Dissent. Its true origins are uncertain, but the saying may have entered popular culture during the Vietnam era. (The same can basically be said of patriot resistance in 1765 against the Stamp Act and in 1767 against the Townshend Acts.). According to a Gallup poll, pride in our nation has declined, especially among young adults. We know why she didn't. Whatever the people's historian Howard Zinn says, Democrats aren't patriots. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. D . "Is dissent really the highest form of patriotism?" Not by itself, no. We join the majority of Americans across our land in praying for a better and more united way forward for all of us. If it be not allowed, it excludes the privilege of canvassing men, and our rulers. Instead of loving people and using things, we love things and use people. At its core, the First Amendment clearly prohibits Congress from making any law hindering the right of the people to peaceably assemble for any of myriad of reasons, including protests. Obligation. Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech; a thing terrible to public traitors. Peaceful protests shouldnt morph into pandemonium protests. Gone are the days when strong leaders and politically differing personalities like 1980s Speaker Tip ONeill and President Ronald Reagan were friends and reached across the aisle in order to lead our country. What we need like never before are leaders at the state and federal level like those decades ago who knew how to agree to disagree agreeably, confronted tough challenges together and advanced our nation forward with American exceptionalism despite their differences. Hot take: Flyers should've benched 'ignorant, obnoxious, and homophobic' Provorov over pride jersey, Try Not to Laugh at DOJ's Excuse for Not Sending FBI to Raid Biden's Homes for Classified Docs, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information, Dissent Is the Highest Form of Patriotismbut Not Online. We live in an age where accusation is en vogue. This most basic form of moral reasoning is newly relevant today, as supporters of NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem have spurred a new, hip slogan: Protest is patriotic. None other than George Takei, who somehow parlayed a small role from a low-rated, quickly canceled 1960s television show into widespread Internet fame, tweeted as much this week, garnering legions of likes and retweets: Protest is patriotic. I do, too. On October 15, 1969, in a speech at Columbia University, Mayor John Lindsay of New York City stated, "We cannot rest content with the charge from Washington that this peaceful protest is unpatriotic. Bill Mullins of the American Dialect Society did further research. "Peaceful protests" shouldn't morph into pandemonium protests. Though you were not born in this country, you and those like you represent the best of its ideals. In 1980, dissent arose among members of the Governing Body regarding the significance of 1914 in Jehovah's Witnesses' doctrines. Patriotism is the highest form of patriotism. For you see, dissent in the mind of the liberal is only patriotic when that dissent is directed at anything other than compliance with their vision and agenda. By. As my National Review colleague John. However, the framers drew a line between peaceful protests and armed insurrections. As Ethan Epstein wrote in The Weekly Standard, Few if any Americans are associated with more apocryphal quotes than Thomas Jefferson, but the false notion that he said, "dissent is the highest form of patriotism" is among the easiest to dispel. Benjamin Franklin wrote, "It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority." 20 November 1967, Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT), Gadabouts Diary by Sheilah Graham, pg. Grossman reminds us, and for many, dissent is a form of patriotism because it is concerned with and geared towards the good of one's people. (New York City Mayor John Lindsayed.) 38: Many times the highest form of civic patriotism lies in criticising your town for all you are worth, reads one variation that appeared in The Zanesville Signal in 1925. The Left has already achieved that goal. Be a conscientious objector if you dont want to be drafted. His full statement was: "The fact is that this dissent is the highest form of patriotism.