Others have a right to different opinions

I hold that a cornerstone of democracy is freedom of speech, within the law, for the “freedom to think as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth; without free speech and assembly discussion would be futile; with them, discussion affords ordinarily adequate protection against the dissemination of noxious doctrine; the greatest menace to freedom is an inert people; public discussion is a political duty; and this should be a fundamental principle of the … Government” (Louis Brandeis).

I defend the right of the red shirts to set up red villages, just as I defend the right of actress Bongkot to denounce those who mourned the passing of “Uncle SMS” -- even though I strongly hold that the reds and Bongkot are both wrong. 

Thus, Deputy PM Chalerm Yoobumrung must bring those who torched the red pavilion and the reds who ran Bongkot out of town to court, rather than passing off the latter as being a colorful exercise in democracy.

Let the red shirts and Bongkot be shown to be in the wrong through calm, informed discussion – not intimidation, for “if all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind” (John Stuart Mill).

Burin Kantabutra