Dangerous Ideas

Dangerous to whom? Ideas that are dangerous only to the thinker (think Darwin Awards) can be deadly, but aren't subversive. Ideas that would otherwise be entirely benign to the thinker can be fatal, if a powerful group thinks that its interests are threatened.

Freedom has always been one of these ideas.

Joan of Arc was burned at the stake on this day in 1431, for this idea. Hers was not a personal notion of freedom, but powerful English national interests were threatened, and Joan had to go.

Can't have that sort of thing.


On this day in 1989, inspired by this idea, protesters in Beijing constructed the Goddess of Democracy. For a brief few days, Tienanmen Square - Ground Zero to the state sponsored Cult of Mao - was home to hundreds of thousands of people who, for some strange reason, had a personal notion of what freedom should be. Who didn't need the Vanguard of the Intelligentsia to lead them, for their own good. Powerful Party interests were threatened, and the Goddess had to go.

Can't have that sort of thing.

Some ideas are inherently subversive, because they make people think that they should be allowed to choose for themselves. Think for themselves.

Dangerous.