Heretics have been hated from the beginning of recorded time; they have been ostracized, exiled, tortured, maimed, and butchered; but it has generally proved impossible to smother them; and when it has not, the society that has succeeded has always declined.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Societies that persecute dissent eventually decline. Heretics challenge orthodoxy and often drive necessary social progress.
- In plain terms
- Tolerating dissent prevents societal decline.
- What can you take from it?
- Protect free expression to keep society healthy.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Who is being silenced in your community?
- What heretical ideas need space?
Another view
Unregulated dissent can destabilize necessary social cohesion.
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Life is made up of constant calls to action, and we seldom have time for more than hastily contrived answers.
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