THE SCOTTISH RITE JOURNAL--Article--February 1990--Artcanoo.feb

                      Consistency and Dissent

              JOHN E. CANOOSE, 32ø, K...C...C...H...
         39301 Pine Ridge Road, Oakhurst, California 93644


     Article One of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution of the 
United States reads as follows:
     CONGRESS shall make no law respecting an establishment of 
     religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or 
     abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the 
     right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition 
     the Government for a redress of grievances.
     Is there anything wrong with freedom of speech?  We may 
think so when "some ignorant crackpot" voices a statement with 
which we totally disagree.  When our most dearly held opinions or 
traditions are threatened, we may feel as though we should gag 
the speaker.  This feeling can be especially grating when 
everyone else we know agrees with us.  Of course we are right.  
"Everyone says so!" Is there anything wrong with this attitude?
     Yes, there is!  If we cut off dissent, we may lose an idea 
which is valuable to the progress of mankind.  The consequence of 
stifled dissent is obvious in the social upheaval that is 
occurring in Eastern Europe today.  The apparent harmony that 
existed under those conditions has been revealed as hiding a 
cancer that threatens the existence of the regime itself.  The 
First Amendment not only gives us the right of free speech, it 
also guarantees us the right to petition the government for a 
redress of grievances.  
     During the period of stifled dissent in East Germany there 
was no flag burning; at least there was no public flag burning.  
Nevertheless, television has revealed to us the private attitude 
of many of the East Germans.   After the release of restrictions, 
many of the flags in the public parades had the central core cut 
out of them.  The central insignia applied to the ruling party 
and the East Germans wanted it out. Can we learn anything from 
this?  Yes, I think we can!
     The desecration of a symbol by a protester can be a 
desperate cry of pain.  It can signal that a government or 
society is not providing for the needs of a portion of its 
members.  It is a dramatic means of gaining attention.  It can 
infuriate those of us who are not experiencing the pain, but it 
gains our undivided attention, if only temporarily.  This is not 
to imply that the dissenter is always right.  Perhaps he is 
entirely wrong.  Can we resort to education in the hope of 
showing him the errors of his ways?  Will this work? Yes and no. 
      Our concepts of justice are imbedded in our minds at an 
early age, and the greater the wrong, the harder it is to change. 
Feelings of vengeance enter into the equation, and the sufferer 
feels the necessity to cry "I'll show `em!"--and he does.  
Punishment does not change a dissenter's viewpoint; it only 
strengthens his anti-social feelings.
     As a symbol, a flag is priceless.  The symbol cannot be 
destroyed; only the cloth that represents it can be damaged.  No 
matter how infuriating the act of desecration may be, we must 
allow it if we are to be consistent in our principles of 
guaranteeing free speech, the right to petition for redress, and 
the right to the pursuit of happiness.  If the first case is 
stifled, the second case, our own, may be suppressed too!  That 
the dissenter is in the minority does not automatically brand him 
wrong!
     Assume that the protester has made his case and society 
decides that he is wrong.  What then?  As long as his actions do 
not intrude on the rights of others, ignore him!
     Man strives toward perfection in his relations with other 
men.  He does not succeed.  However, history shows that he is 
improving as the centuries pass. The dissenters are showing us a 
pimple on the body of our society.  We should be sure that the 
pimple doesn't grow into a cancer.
_____________________________________________________________
The consequence of stifled dissent is obvious in the social 
upheaval that is occurring in Eastern Europe today.  The apparent 
harmony that existed under those conditions has been revealed as 
hiding a cancer that threatens the existence of the regime 
itself.

Dissenters are showing us a pimple on the body of our society.  
We should be sure that the pimple doesn't grow into a cancer.