We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.
Interpretation
Dissent is a crucial part of democracy, and equating it with disloyalty undermines society.
In this quote, Edward R. Murrow emphasizes the importance of dissent as a form of loyalty to a democratic society. He warns that silencing opposing viewpoints or equating them with disloyalty can lead to a loss of the very essence of America, highlighting that healthy opposition enriches democracy rather than detracts from it.
In practice
In a discussion about political activism during a debate.
We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.
Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them.
One of the basic troubles with radio and television news is that both instruments have grown up as an incompatible combination of show business, advertising and news. Each of the three is a rather bizarre and demanding profession. And when you get all three under one roof, the dust never settles.
Speaking of Sir Winston Churchill: He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.
We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.
I think that inside every adult is the heart of a child. We just gradually convince ourselves that we have to act more like adults.
I believe that ideas such as absolute certitude, absolute exactness, final truth, etc. are figments of the imagination which should not be admissible in any field of science... This loosening of thinking seems to me to be the greatest blessing which modern science has given to us. For the belief in a single truth and in being the possessor thereof is the root cause of all evil in the world.
The palace is not safe when the cottage is not happy.
Leaving out the gamblers, the burglars, and the plumbers, perhaps we do put our trust in God after a fashion. But, after all, it is an overstatement. If the cholera or black plague should come to these shores, perhaps the bulk of the nation would pray to be delivered from it, but the rest would put their trust in The Health Board.
What is freedom? Freedom is the right to choose: the right to create for oneself the alternatives of choice.
Choice is the engine of our evolution ... if you choose unconsciously, you will evolve unconsciously. If you choose consciously, you will evolve consciously
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