Dissent is patriotic

[magid]

Yesterday on my Shabbat walk I saw "Dissent is Patriotic" in colored chalk on the sidewalk. Twice. And the first word was outlined in a contrasting color, too.

Today, driving to the supermarket, I saw a third "Dissent is Patriotic", in progress. I was surprised to see a guy in a suit, dress shoes, and a matching fedora; I'd not expected someone quite so well dressed. I agree with the message, though.

Comments

from an army man . . .

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Dissent is patriotic. It's what the first amendment s all about.

check out http://www.bordc.org Bill of Rights Defense Comittee.

Re: from an army man . . .

[magid.livejournal.com]

Exactly. It's amazing how many people seem to have lost that knowledge. "Closing ranks" for solidarity during this time of duress, or other claptrap. But in the end it means that what we're fighting to preserve (whether one agrees with the war or not; I don't) is not worth keeping.

Thanks for the link. Not surprisingly, I found the People's Republic of Cambridge on the list. What I was a bit surprised by was that MA had one of the two longest lists (with CA, which is so much bigger).

[ichur72.livejournal.com]

The problem that I have with this slogan is that it is too simplistic, too Manichaean almost. The implication is that dissent is something one must always do. But if taken to the extreme, this becomes dissent purely for dissent's sake, which would (IMO) take a lot of the meaning out of dissent. I also see another implication that bothers me -- namely, that there is never any place for agreeing with what the (government/authorities/boss/fill in the blank) does/do.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Pretty much any slogan I can think of is too simplistic.

To me, the implication isn't that dissent is required, but that it, too, is patriotic, not making one an enemy of the state, or freedom, or whatever it is that people who do not concur with the current regime have been accused of. Dissent is a viable form of expression, in other words, just as much as agreeing with [whoever] is.