This editorial appeared in The Age in 1987. It stands as an eloquent defence of protest and dissent.

Saturday Reflection

A cartoonist has drawn a long-haired, scruffy-looking youth holding a blank placard and asking his room mate of similar appearance: “What shall we protest against today?”

Protesting, dissenting, complaining can become a habit even in a world is which there is so much to be thankful for.

Nevertheless, we smiled at the cartoon while inwardly protesting that not all protesters are way-out, and most know why they are carrying placards.

Some among us see all demonstrators simply as troublemakers, bent on causing disturbance, who ought to be suppressed. That, of course, is what Hitler and Stalin did to dissenters, and other dictators still do today. [Read more…]