Cessen Speaks

The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else.

—Theodore Roosevelt

 

I really like this quote. Not just for its (obviously direct) relevance to the goings-ons with the USA's current president, but also because of the more general idea that questioning and criticizing authority is not only good, but downright important.

This doesn't mean, of course, that one ought to criticize or question authority just for the hell of it without grounds or reason to do so. But when you do think there are grounds for it, it's important to speak up. And it's important to let other's speak up too, even if you disagree with them.

Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure no one who reads my blog needs to be told this at all, so I suppose this entry is pretty pointless. Just verbal masturbation, really. But I did want to share that quote, because I thought it was cool.

I also just like knowing that one of the USA's most highly respected presidents essentially said that all of those people who keep saying that not supporting the president is unpatriotic are—in fact—the ones who are actually unpatriotic. And even "morally treasonable to the American public". Heh heh.