Louisiana Voice

“Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.”

—Theodore Roosevelt.

“Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionaries and rebels—men and women who dared to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.”

—Dwight D. Eisenhower

“I can tell you this, you can’t talk that way about the country, not while I’m president.”

—Donald Trump, on political dissent, July 2019. (Trump has gone on record as describing political protests as “embarrassing,” called the press “the enemy of the American people,” blocked critics from his Twitter page in violation of the First Amendment, stripped security clearances from former government officials who criticized him, advocated “opening up” libel laws so that he and others can more easily sue the media, encouraged campaign crowds to “beat up” protesters, ridiculed Gold Star parents and an autistic environmental activist, denounced a dying senator who dared disagree with him, accused witnesses against him as traitors and even fired some who testified under oath about his actions, and threatened to use antitrust and tax laws against media critics.)