One of the greatest parts of my job is the amazing discoveries research throws up. My latest find: a little gem of an article from the Montgomery Alabama Advertiser in the spring of 1936.
It begins with an anecdote about a man who was beaten to death in Tampa for organizing labor, and notes that the men who did this were apparently "upstanding" citizens whom the writer suspects had clear consciences, because they firmly believed they were doing the right thing.
And then the article takes an unexpected turn. "If democracy fails and disappears from the earth," it predicts, "this will be the point of collapse": self-righteousness. "For this spirit is the foundation stone on which all dictatorships are erected."
"The core of Americanism," it posits, "the thing that has made it possible for our system to work so far," is the nation's collective acceptance of the principle: "Pray God to show you that it is possible for you to be mistaken."
"An American is an American in spirit only as long as he admits that it is possible for him to be mistaken and, therefore, that the other fellow has a right to form his own opinion and to express it freely and publicly." That's the core of democracy and free speech.
If democracy fails, it will be from self-righteousness. (And if you respond to this by pointing out why the people you disagree with are the ones whose self-righteousness is going to destroy democracy, congratulations on entirely missing the point.)
Here is a clipping of the original. I am becoming very fond of this little piece.
Addendum: it was actually a syndicated column. Haven’t yet found author or original source but it isn’t from Alabama in 1936. Which, you know, makes better sense.
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