student's right to dissent, The

I have made many trips for the State Department. My travels have taken me to Norway, Yugoslavia, Hong Kong, Japan, The Philippines, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Hungary, and other countries. I have talked to students in all these places, and I find that there is much more that unites students around the world with American students than separates them.

One thing I find in common - a revolution a moral and spiritual revolt. We are all direct or indirect participants. They raise a voice of dissent that dares to question its elders in all countries. They exert a thrust that seems to rip off the layers of hypocrisy and transform the American way of life. When I was a boy we used to read Horatio Alger stories. The theme of these stories was, if you were a good boy, moderate in all things, completely loyal to the system, you would be rewarded by the big boss with a gold watch. The youth today don't want a gold watch. They know what time it is. They ridicule the complacency and falsity of life. They rebel against their inheritance. What have you in America inherited?

Another war in a far-off place, an undeclared war.

Each day you read conflicting reports on how this war should be fought. In the meantime, many boys will go off to die in Vietnam, and the girls will be waiting for them to come back. Shouldn't they be allowed to express themselves about the war in Vietnam? Right or wrong, I believe the youth of today should be allowed to express their feelings about this far off conflict. It is more important that their voice of dissent be heard than is the danger that they might be giving solace and comfort to the enemy. From the very beginning, the immigrants who came here to form our country were dissenters. Their voice of dissent grew louder, culminating in the American Revolution. Out of this, we developed a country that permits freedom of speech, freedom of thought. We established a country that not only permits, but safeguards a voice of dissent. It is vital that we do not abuse the privilege. It is more vital that we maintain it and fight against those who would curb it.

Russia, China, and most countries under communism do not permit a voice of dissent. If such a voice arises, it is stilled -- forever

It is more important that we protect a voice of dissent in our own country than worry about the lack of it in others. We must constantly take inventory of our democracy. We must study it. We must never take it for granted. A government, a country, an individual crumples from complacency, decays from lack of introspection, atrophies from idleness. Those who love democracy best are those most determined to make it live up to its ideals....

It is ironic that in spite of all the criticisms directed against the irreverent attitude of today's youth, that attitude is really a distillation of the highest ideals of our American heritage. For generations speakers would stand before students, as I am standing here now, and try to inspire them with the noblest standards. Somehow the corrupting forces of "learning the ropes" in modem life would twist these ideals and stifle the voice of dissent into conformity.

I hope this voice of dissent continues in a democratic atmosphere that also permits the expression of conflicting views from your elders. Hooliganism is just dissent for dissent's sake. Only a society committed to freedom of dissent from all sides can hope to pursue truth. Think deeply before you set the mold. Have faith that through the expression of a true voice of dissent you will ultimately make the right choice.

Copyright National Forum: Phi Kappa Phi Journal Fall 1996
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