How Liberals Justify Their Dissent
By
Marty
on May 2, 2006 at 05:02 am
46 Comments
I'm sure you all are familiar with the liberal assertion that just because they are avidly against the war on terrorism doesn't mean that they are unpatriotic. One of the liberals favorite proof of their dissenting patriotism is to quote Thomas Jeffersons alleged statement 'Dissent is the greatest form of patriotism.'. But as Mark Steyn writes in Where's the dissent about source of quote?
But in keeping with their reputation of not worrying about the truthfulness of their statements, the media and liberals join hands and minds in proclaiming that .
Interestingly, but not surprisingly, since the organization is notorious for concocting false notions, it was someone from the ACLU that first uttered the fictitious Jeffersonian quote:
It seems that the mantra of the Democratic party has become dissent. As Mark so aptly puts it:
The lies about the patriotism of dissent have permeated our entire society particularly in the school system where children from kindergarten to college seniors are indoctrinated to be 'patriotic' dissenters.
However the Democrats can't be too comfortable about this stance if they have to use false Jeffersonian quotes to justify their actions. Indeed, one would think that spending most of ones energies on negativism would take its toll because it would seem to be grossly abnormal to continuously express dislike for the place that has nurtured you and is your home.
According to the Jefferson Library: "There are a number of quotes that we do not find in Thomas Jefferson's correspondence or other writings; in such cases, Jefferson should not be cited as the source. Among the most common of these spurious Jefferson quotes are: 'Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.' "
It was the Aussie pundit Tim Blair who noted the Thomas Jeffefakery. American commentators were apparently too busy cooing that "Kerry may be reflecting a new boldness on the part of liberals to come out and say what they believe and to reclaim the moral high ground on patriotism" (CBS News) to complain that KERRY LIED!! SCHOLARLY ATTRIBUTION DIED!!! Instead, KERRY MISQUOTED!! MEDIA DOTED!!!
But in keeping with their reputation of not worrying about the truthfulness of their statements, the media and liberals join hands and minds in proclaiming that .
Indeed, America's hardboiled newsmen can't get enough of the Thomas Jefferbunk. The Berkshire Eagle used it as the headline for last year's Fourth of July editorial. Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press thundered: "We need to stop slicing this country in half, and saying those who support this act or this politician are 'good' Americans, and the rest are not. Sometimes 'dissent is the highest form of patriotism.' I didn't make that up. Thomas Jefferson did."
Er, no. You made up that he made it up. But former Georgia state Rep. Mike Snow uses it, and Miranda Yaver of Berkeley wore it on a button to the big anti-war demo in Washington last year, and Ted Kennedy deployed it as the stirring finale to his anti-Bush speech: "It is not unpatriotic to tell the truth to the American people about the war in Iraq. In this grave moment of our country, to use the words of Thomas Jefferson, 'Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.' "
Interestingly, but not surprisingly, since the organization is notorious for concocting false notions, it was someone from the ACLU that first uttered the fictitious Jeffersonian quote:
As far as I can tell, it was Nadine Strosser, the ACLU's head honcho, who cooked up the Jefferson fake. At any rate, she seems to be the only one who ever deployed it pre-9/11. Since then, however, it's gone nuclear, it's everywhere, it's a bumper sticker and a T-shirt slogan and a surefire applause line for the entire Massachusetts congressional delegation. As Sen. Kennedy's brother so memorably said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what a fake quote can do for you."
It seems that the mantra of the Democratic party has become dissent. As Mark so aptly puts it:
But the high holiness of dissent for its own sake is now the core belief of the Democratic Party: It's not what you're for, it's what you're against.
Dissent for its own sake is like the Democrats' energy policy: We're opposed to any kind of energy; we prefer to be mired in enervated passivity. If the right is full of armchair generals, the left is full of armchair generalities: Nothing can be done, any course is futile, everything's a quagmire. All we can say for certain is that saying so for certain is the highest form of patriotism
The lies about the patriotism of dissent have permeated our entire society particularly in the school system where children from kindergarten to college seniors are indoctrinated to be 'patriotic' dissenters.
It's truer to say that these days patriotism is the highest form of dissent -- against a culture where the media award each other Pulitzers for damaging national security, and the only way a soldier's mom can become a household name is if she's a Bush-is-the-real-terrorist kook like Cindy Sheehan, and our grade schools' claims to teach our children about America, "warts and all," has dwindled down into teaching them all the warts and nothing else. Or as the Capital Times of Madison, Wis., concluded its ringing editorial on the subject: "Thomas Jefferson got it right: 'Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.' And teaching children how to be thoughtful and effective dissenters is the highest form of education."
However the Democrats can't be too comfortable about this stance if they have to use false Jeffersonian quotes to justify their actions. Indeed, one would think that spending most of ones energies on negativism would take its toll because it would seem to be grossly abnormal to continuously express dislike for the place that has nurtured you and is your home.
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