--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's almost hard to imagine anything more…" description: "\"“It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic than the view that political officials should not debate American wars in public, but only expr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/glenn-greenwald-1215_2010_it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-mor_53422.jpg" --- # It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic… ![“It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic than the view that political officials should not debate American wars in public, but only express concerns 'privately with the administration.' That's just a small sliver of Johnson's radicalism: replacing Feingold in the Senate with Ron…” quote by Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/glenn-greenwald-1215_2010_it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-mor_53422.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/glenn-greenwald-1215_2010_it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-mor_53422.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/glenn-greenwald-1215_2010_it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-mor_53422.jpg) > ““It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic than the view that political officials should not debate American wars in public, but only express concerns 'privately with the administration.' That's just a small sliver of Johnson's radicalism: replacing Feingold in the Senate with Ron Johnson would be a civil liberties travesty analogous to the economic travesty from, say, replacing Bernie Sanders with Lloyd Blankfein.”” [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that restricting public debate on war decisions undermines democracy, equating it with extreme political shifts that threaten civil liberties and economic fairness. **In simple terms:** Undemocratic war debate limits. Key Takeaway Public scrutiny of war is essential. Themes democracy civil liberties war policy political accountability media freedom Mood critical concerned defiant Type political commentary opinion piece When to use this quote - legislative hearings on military action - media coverage of war decisions - public town halls on foreign policy Key Concepts public debate transparency political extremism Practical Applications - policy advocacy for open debate - educational curricula on civic engagement Questions to Reflect On - How does private decision‑making affect public trust? - What mechanisms can ensure transparent war deliberations? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-war/) [Civil liberties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-liberties/) [Conservatism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conservatism/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Radicalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radicalism/) [Right wing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-wing/) [United states senate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states-senate/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“People aren't pissed just to be pissed. 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Someone my government tells me is a terrorist; 2. Someone my President decides to kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/terrorist-noun-1-someone-my-government-tells-me-is-a-terrorist-2/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) [Explore all 270 Glenn Greenwald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) ## More 2010 quotes > [“A culture of secrecy is like the bad stench created by cat pee—it is very difficult to get rid of.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-de-vos/a-culture-of-secrecy-is-like-the-bad-stench-created-by-cat-pee-it-is/) Pierre de Vos > [“What we have witnessed in our own time is the death of universities as centres of critique. 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