It was the argument that if someone didn’t support the war, that they were unpatriotic, if they didn’t support the war, they also didn’t support the troops. It was the strategy to cease discussions altogether.

And those who chose to ask questions were silenced, but for the most part, the media ate it all up.

So this brings me to my point that dissent is not a tragic action going against the grain of unity, it is actually the weapon of humanity to advance knowledge, and bring democracy to the forefront of any discussion. If there were no dissent, a conflict of ideas, then we would still think that the earth was flat, or that earth was the center of the universe.

Yes, that’s right. A conflict of ideas is crucial for the advancement of knowledge. If we all thought alike, then our own progress would be impeded.

Those who are afraid of dissent, such as those regimes of Myanmar, Sudan, and maybe even The Arroyo Administration, are afraid of such debates on the issues, for fear that their ideas will be put to a test, that their propaganda devoid of real ideas will be exposed.

Those who fear dissent, may already know that their stand is built on sand, and that further debate and discussion will shed light on their flimsy arguments.

This is the true power of having further discussions on issues — and scandal. To simply wish them away does not give us more knowledge, it just makes the stupid ideas even more prominent.

Discussion on issues gives rise to solutions, it also gives rise to problems that we may not have even known about.

With our human intellect, why would we even want to put limits on our capabilities to solve our most pressing issues? The answer is, of course, that collectively, we are thinking beings with a need to ask questions — it is in our nature. And those who try to cease the discussion altogether are going against human nature, and human progress.

But those who wish to stop this natural progress are those whose ideas and propaganda has most to lose. They are, in a sense, the guardians of the status quo, indignant of change, for fear of losing power.

And these are definitely the individuals who, in a saying, has let power corrupt them absolutely.