Dissent’s Value

Dissent is good and healthy for our democracy. However, I would like to remind people that dissent in and of itself does not confer some nobility, courage or principle to the dissenter; it is the reasoning and principle of the dissenter’s arguments that determine their value. It is possible to be a “lonely voice of dissent” against an overwhelming tide of public sentiment and to be flat-out wrong. Look at it this way: A guy like David Duke is a “lonely voice of dissent” contrary to what public sentiment is, but he is not brave or principled--he’s a despicable pinhead!

Jack Pastorok

San Clemente