Was Thomas Jefferson right saying: "Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism."?

No. That would be a rather ridiculous statement.

If the statement read "Dissent can be the highest form of Patriotism", then I would be able to agree with it. But to say that dissent, regardless of the issue, is the highest form of patriotism is ridiculous.

As is reads now, if I said that all politicians should be shot and America should become subject to Cuba, with Havana as the new capital, I would be a great patriot.

Read some Thomas Jefferson, and I think you will see that it is doubtful that he said this exact statement. He may have said something similar in a certain context (though no one has been able to find this comment actually in anything written by Jefferson), the context would make a huge difference in understanding what was being said.

Jefferson was a very well read and intelligent person, and an obviously poorly worded statement such as the one you quoted should not be attributed to him.

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RE:

Was Thomas Jefferson right saying: "Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism."?

It was never documented that this was actually said by Jefferson.

Here is a genuine quote on the topic:

"Political dissension is doubtless a less evil than the lethargy of despotism: but still it is a great evil, and it would be as worthy the efforts of the patriot as of the philosopher, to exclude it's influence if possible, from social life. The good are rare enough at best. There is no reason to subdivide them by artificial lines. But whether we shall ever be able so far to perfect the principles of society as that political opinions shall, in it's intercourse, be as inoffensive as those of philosophy, mechanics, or any other, may well be doubted." TJ to Thomas Pinckney, 29 May 1797

Being English i find the American sense of Patriotism hard to understand . its not because we`re unpatriotic but i think Patriotism might have a different meaning here .From the view point of an outsider looking in American patriotism is less to do with people uniting for the good of the vast majority, and and more to do with not questioning the decisions of people in high places, and/or saying that what they are doing is wrong . I can say in all honesty that i never heard anyone here calling another person unpatriotic its lucky for us that its like this here, because without hundreds of years of public dissent we would still be living in the Dark Ages under feudal law .when the only people with any kind of rights were the privileged few

The sad thing that more and more people here have come to realise is that the war on terror is nothing more than a smoke and mirrors tactic that government is using to take back these rights without us noticing .I think the thousands of people who were killed and tortured for their belief in justice and freedom for all ,would be turning in their graves if they knew how little we apreciate what they did for us and how quick we are to exchange these rights for a false sense of security .Being patriotic means loving your country not behaving like sheep

No. Patriotism by deffinition is a devoted, unconditional love and support for one's country.

So if you want to get technical; no dissent is not patriotic. The Nazis didn't allow dissent, and they were a very patriotic bunch.

He would've been more accurate if he had said, "Dissent is the highest form of freedom."

I don't think some of what is passing for dissent Jefferson would approve of today.

I have no problem with questioning what is going on but this shrill voice of the far left is beyound belief.

To twist quotes around and out of context.

Congress trying to regulate speech that is attacking them.

When you have Hillary calling a general liar.

There is dissent but this junk is not dissent is pathological.

Yes because it means that you care. It's easy to just go along with whatever the leaders decide and who's to say that the leaders are right or justified. We cannot in good conscience just go along with it. I think people that don't dissent are unpatriotic. If you agree with everything a leader says then it shows that you are not thinking. Why did people die for this country? So we have the freedom to speak freely, responsibly. With great freedom comes great responsibility.

Absolutely! I know that some Bush supporters might argue that we Bush opponents dissent merely for the sake of dissent, but that's simply not true. The fact of the matter is, our Founding Fathers gave us a democracy, not a dictatorship, and disagreement and debate are what make for healthy democracies. Also, in a democracy, if you feel that your rights or those of others are being infringed upon, you have the right to make your voice heard and to work to change the situation.

Jefferson never said that. Dorothy Hewitt Hutchinson did. She opposed our involvement in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.

No that is not right. However you should be able to stand up against the government since we are free and this is not a dictatorship.

Earnest, I think you need for follow your own advice, for a christian you are very hateful.

Hatred Blocks Rational Thought ". -- Earnest T .