Attacking the critics

"Liberty has never come from the government. Liberty has always come from the subjects of government. The history of liberty is the history of resistance. The history of liberty is a history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it."
-Woodrow Wilson

This article appeared in the Washington Post on September 11, 2006

War Critics Abetting Terrorists, Cheney Says

excerpt: (Cheney said) "Suggestions, for example, that we should withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq simply feed into that whole notion, validates the strategy of the terrorists."

This statement was made by Cheney while being interviewed by Tim Russert. First off, why didn't Russert follow up this statement with a question like, "Do you believe dissenting voices are not part of democracies?" That is I want to hear about, after Cheney makes this statement.

In a democracy, dissent is an essential element. Without dissent there is no public check on our political leaders, no feedback to our leaders. In a democracy, leaders need to explain their actions and those actions need to be critically examined. In totalitarian forms of government, this doesn't happen. In an open society, the nature of war and war itself is perhaps one of the most complex and sensitive issues that a country can engage in. This is very serious business. Therefore, war needs to be examined even more critically and carefully. Trashing critics by broadly labeling them as helping the enemy is a reprehensible disservice to honorable citizens.

painting by Henri Fantin-Latour