We grow tyrannical fighting tyranny... The most alarming spectacle today is not the spectacle of the atomic bomb in an unfederated world, it is the spectacle of the Americans beginning to accept the device of loyalty oaths and witchhunts, beginning to call anybody they don't like a Communist.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Fighting tyranny with tyrannical methods like loyalty oaths undermines the values being defended.
- In plain terms
- Using bad tactics to fight bad people makes you like them.
- What can you take from it?
- Methods matter as much as goals in fighting oppression.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can you fight evil without becoming evil?
- Where is the line between safety and freedom?
Another view
The historical context of McCarthyism is not explicitly stated in the quote.
More from E. B. (Elwyn Brooks) White
Salutations
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