Differing between dissent and
disloyalty Michael Haberman/ Columnist
I’m not sure how popular or correct my view is on what
should be considered dissent of the government and what
should be considered disloyalty to our country.
I don’t really see much of a difference between what
the public perceives to be dissent and what they perceive to
be disloyalty.
I don’t even really believe that
loyalty is a important value to have, seeing as how most of
the things we are supposed to be loyal to are things that are
thrust upon us rather than our own beliefs.
I feel that the reason there is so much controversy over
issues like disloyalty is because of the insecurities people
have in their own beliefs and the constant fear they
accumulate of things that may be contrary to what they have
put so much of their time and energy into.
As individuals, we are not expected to be loyal to our
country if the decisions that the country makes are not
similar to our views.
Similarly, we are not expected to be loyal to a religion
because we were raised to believe that a particular religion
is right.
We aren’t even expected to be loyal to our family
members unless those people have treated us justly and
exhibited support throughout our endeavors.
Loyalty, just like trust, is a concept that must be earned
and is too often blindly given out to false causes that make
us feel more secure about our daily lives.
Everyone should be allowed to make dissenting remarks about
whatever issue they want, as long as they are not blatantly
dispersing false statements.
It is the ignorance of society that fears dissenting
opinions and is not able to recognize what they should truly
listen to and what they should avert themselves from even
paying attention to.
People want to point fingers at politicians and media
personalities when they don’t like something that is
said.
But maybe they should try turning those fingers around and
pointing them at themselves for allowing themselves to be
impressionable enough to be immensely affected by
others’ views.
Contact Michael Haberman at pendulum@elon.edu or
278-7247. | 
