Her virtues were denied, her achievements belittled, until what Mr Lippmann terms a “stereotype” of her was built up for public use which made her appear to the average man a criminal who could not be too severely punished.
Laski discusses the negative portrayal of Germany in the aftermath of World War I, highlighting the impact of public perception.
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He is able, accordingly, to indulge in the twofold luxury not only of preserving his own authority, but also of assisting the persons attacked to enter, if they so choose, the way of truth.
The essence of the persecuting position is always that the persecutor has hold of truth and that he would betray its service by allowing it to be questioned.
The only way to deal with novelty is to understand it, and the only way to deal with grievance is to seek a remedy for the complaint it embodies.
To deny novelty or grievance a right of expression is a certain, if, indeed, an ultimate, validation of the truth they contain.
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