We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.
Interpretation
Dissent is a crucial part of democracy, and equating it with disloyalty undermines society.
In this quote, Edward R. Murrow emphasizes the importance of dissent as a form of loyalty to a democratic society. He warns that silencing opposing viewpoints or equating them with disloyalty can lead to a loss of the very essence of America, highlighting that healthy opposition enriches democracy rather than detracts from it.
In practice
In a discussion about political activism during a debate.
We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse, and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it, and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.
Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them.
One of the basic troubles with radio and television news is that both instruments have grown up as an incompatible combination of show business, advertising and news. Each of the three is a rather bizarre and demanding profession. And when you get all three under one roof, the dust never settles.
Speaking of Sir Winston Churchill: He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.
We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.
Men who are unhappy, like men who sleep badly, are always proud of the fact.
I don't think the world will destroy itself in a nuclear cataclysm. On the contrary, we have the capacity to save ourselves and save the planet, and we will use it.
He who gives only what he would as readily throw away, gives without generosity; for the essence of generosity is in self-sacrifice.
The river and the sea can be kings of a hundred valleys, because they lie below them.
The audience is the best judge of anything. They cannot be lied to. Truth brings them closer. A moment that lags - they're gonna cough.
The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images.
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