Divided We Fall: America’s Secession Threat and How to Restore Our Nation

by David French

First, if you are a citizen of a pluralistic, liberal republic, you need to defend the rights of others that you would like to exercise yourself

Second, if you are a citizen of a pluralistic, liberal government, you should defend the rights of communities and associations to govern themselves according to their values and their beliefs—so long as they don’t violate the fundamental rights of their dissenting members.

The word “tolerance,” of course, implies that there is something to tolerate.

Mandatory reverence isn’t reverence at all.

A cultural problem created by competing mass movements requires a mass movement in response. It requires individuals who are willing to go first, to model tolerance and rally Americans who long for tolerance.

The downside, of course, is that the rebirth of federalism involves standing by and consenting to your ideological opponents in different jurisdictions enacting policies and practices you may despise and consider unwise or unjust.

In hindsight, the Founders placed too much trust in the states. Many states not only proved incapable of protecting individual liberty, they proved they could and would energetically suppress the exercise of the most basic rights, including the right to free speech.

Moreover, this fear grips even religious leaders. I’ve sat in the same room with pastors, professors, and leaders of religious colleges who consistently say the exact same thing: they must be very careful about disclosing what they truly believe, lest they enrage the congregation, alienate donors, or trigger a wave of controversy that will swamp the rest of their ministry.