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That said, you're right that there are a lot of things we should be on guard for, but that aren't falsifiable. I suppose that's what the ~1850s quote "Eternal
by ethbro 8y ago
That said, you're right that there are a lot of things we should be on guard for, but that aren't falsifiable.
I suppose that's what the ~1850s quote "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" is about. That there is much in a healthy democracy that cannot be mandated or prohibited, but must constantly be observed, thought about, and judged publicly in an open exchange of ideas.
- arcticbull 8y agoYou’re very much correct that it’s not a falsifiable statement. It’s also hard to express one wherein you can make the claim that political discourse is unaffected by the status quo or parties interested in maintaining/furthering it. Agreed wholeheartedly that eternal vigilance is the cost of freedom. I’m something of an outsider to the US political system, albeit with significant experience, and I do pay a lot of attention to it out of personal interest. I can’t vote anywhere in the world due to where I choose to live. I observe and try to understand. Propaganda carries a lot of negative connotations though that’s usually from those who disagree with what’s being disseminated. The US approach is powerful in my opinion because it convinces people that they want to do the dissemination instead of telling them they need to, if that makes sense. In Canada for instance, there’s very little self aggrandizing, to the extent that we’ve asked ourselves nationally why people don’t fly the flag. I’ve come to feel it’s from a place of confidence; that we know what we are and like it, and so need not proselytize.