Dissent Doesn’t Weaken Democracy

Democracy, it seems, is a more fragile thing in the U.S. than we might hope. Many pundits and letter writers have vehemently denied that protesters against administration policy have a right to speak; James Pinkerton (Commentary, Oct. 2) smugly writes about how “the police, dressed in full body armor, were ready for a rumble” at a demonstration, and applauds as they break up a peaceful and legitimate rally. When we affirm what is positive about our nation, it is most fundamentally our constitutional democracy and its bedrock Bill of Rights, which were won and have been maintained by hard struggle, despite efforts to subvert them. All those who would deny Americans the right to dissent, the right to assemble, the right to speak one’s mind, miss out on this central facet of our society.

These pundits don’t see America and the world through truly democratic eyes; like the Taliban, they see at heart only a fundamental schism between the righteous and the infidel. Letter writer Walter Matera (Oct. 1) says that dissenters suffer from “an oppositional disorder.” He should be thankful such people are around, since he and others seem to have lost the taste for political liberty. You shouldn’t wave the flag without believing in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that it represents.

Phil Brimble

Los Angeles