Luis Leal on how critics are necessary to maintain freedom

    Without the freedom to criticize government, democracy would be impossible. Listen to Luis Leal:

Without general criticism, democracy could not survive; or rather, without the liberty to criticize, democracy would be impossible. In a dictatorship, of the Right or the Left, the absence of criticism is essential for the dictator to remain in power. Without criticism, progress could not be made in any intellectual fields such as scientific endeavors, higher education, and even the arts and literature. To maintain a democracy, critics must remain free to express their opinions. Censorship is anti-democratic. (Quoted from Conversations with Ilan Stavans, by Ilan Stavans, The University of Arizona Press, 2005)

        For a brief biography of Luis Leal, click here. For a brief biography of Ilan Stavans, click here.