Q&A Friday #37: Dissent Is Patriotic? What Piffle!

Question: “How do you deal with liberals who trot out the old “dissent is patriotic” line when conservatives challenge their anti-war views? There seems a fine line between dissent for a good cause, like the kind that sparked the American Revolution, and dissent for its own sake. On top of that, the slogan is used to shut down criticism of their own views, as in they’re automatically in the right merely by opposing Bush and that disagreeing with them makes one unpatriotic. What say you?” — impaler30

The whole, “Dissent is patriotic,” in and of itself idea that some lefties seem to love so much is just silly. There’s nothing inherently “patriotic” or “unpatriotic” about simply dissenting.

So, if someone says to you, “dissent is patriotic,” treat the concept with the contempt it deserves. Say something like:

“Oh? Well, if a person says that he loves his country and someone dissents from that, which of them is more patriotic?”

If their heads don’t explode like those people in Scanners, maybe a light bulb will go off for them.

PS: Also, may I add the following…

Unconfirmed and Incorrectly Attributed Quotes

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.” — Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello

Hat tip to RWN reader jasamc for the Jefferson link.

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