All democratic institutions, from the local city council to the federal government, since time immemorial, occasionally find themselves mired in deep Bull Durham during periods when they have successfully muzzled, stifled, or completely shut out the naysayers among us, those voices of the citizenry who have a different viewpoint than the majority. They may view with alarm, play devil’s advocate, propose alternatives, and point out dangers and pitfalls either not obvious to or previously discounted by their elected representatives. These voices must not be discounted because it is vitally important in any democracy that all sides be heard, all views considered and all possibilities weighed and judged before community or national issues are decided. Of course, we may be forced, on occasion, to listen to the ill informed, the inane, or those with personal axes to grind, but that is a very small price to pay for open, receptive government.
The naysayer is often the missing element in non-democratic institutions gone wrong: whether in the military, the corporation, or the presidency itself. It is very dangerous, even idiotic, for those in power to surround themselves with only yes men. Often their unwise decisions cause grievous suffering and damage to both the institution and the nation.
Ray Singer