“I know of no country where, in general, there reigns less independence of mind and true freedom of discussion than in America,” Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in Volume 2, Chapter 7, of Democracy in America. “In America, the majority draws a formidable circle around thought. Within these limits, the writer is free; but woe to him if he dares to go beyond them. It isn’t that he has to fear an auto-da-fé, but he is exposed to all types of distasteful things and to everyday persecutions.”
A Formidable Circle
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Published by David Jacobi
I am a writer, photographer and artist. This blog will be a running commentary on country living, gardening, cooking, history, people, folklore, writing, reading, art, flora and fauna, photography, music, movies, traveling and whatever else I might be pondering off the back porch. View all posts by David Jacobi
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