The Decline of Radicalism (Boorstin)

The Decline of Radicalism (Boorstin)

In his literary composition The Decline of Radicalism, Daniel J Boorstin asserts that disagreement catalyzes the success of a liberal society while dissension inhibits the success of that same society. Disagreement is a conflict or difference in opinion or action. Dissension is a serious disagreement that leads to argument or quarrel, usually resulting in some form of action. Despite Boorstin’s position on dissension and disagreement, ultimately both are innate human characteristics. It is an inevitable reality that individuals are going to passionately fight for what they believe in. America and democracy are built on the principles of freedom of expression and freedom of religion in addition to the right to support and defend their opinions. Although dissensions create a limited amount of friction and problems in society, ultimately dissension is neither the “cancer” of liberal society nor the problem in America that “overshadows all others.”
Martin Luther King Jr., the most famous American Civil Right’s activist, not only promoted dissension but also was a dissenter himself. In the 1950s and 1960s, under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr. and fellow dissenters, African Americans began to rise up and demand equality from white society. Martin Luther King and other African-American civil rights leaders had negotiated equality for all African Americans and for equality for decades. Since the abolishment of slavery, African Americans disagreed with the oppression of white society but were powerless to achieve equal rights. However, King led many dissension movements during the 1950s and 1960s because he believed dissension and civil disobedience was the only way to get the attention of white society. These dissension movements included boycotts, protests, marches, campaigns, and speeches. Some of the most famous dissension movements during the Civil Right’s Movement were the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955, the Birmingham Campaign, marches in Selma and...

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