--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is not challenged from outside is…" description: "\"“What is not challenged from outside is open to corruption from within. -This is the infinite value of a dissenting voice: that where it is not allowed..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/nuala-o-faolain-22668_dissenting-voice_what-is-not-challenged-from-outside-is-o_3016287.jpg" --- # What is not challenged from outside is open to corruption… ![“What is not challenged from outside is open to corruption from within. -This is the infinite value of a dissenting voice: that where it is not allowed to flourish, an institution- a school or an orphanage or a government or a media consensus…begins to slide toward allowing its worst energies into…” quote by Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/nuala-o-faolain-22668_dissenting-voice_what-is-not-challenged-from-outside-is-o_3016287.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/nuala-o-faolain-22668_dissenting-voice_what-is-not-challenged-from-outside-is-o_3016287.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/nuala-o-faolain-22668_dissenting-voice_what-is-not-challenged-from-outside-is-o_3016287.jpg) > ““What is not challenged from outside is open to corruption from within. -This is the infinite value of a dissenting voice: that where it is not allowed to flourish, an institution- a school or an orphanage or a government or a media consensus…begins to slide toward allowing its worst energies into play.”” [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. External challenges prevent internal decay; dissent protects institutions from corruption. **In simple terms:** Dissent guards against internal corruption. Key Takeaway Encourage open critique. Themes freedom of speech institutional integrity corruption Mood concerned hopeful Type political inspirational When to use this quote - politics - education - media - government - non‑profits Key Concepts dissent checks and balances Questions to Reflect On - How can you support dissenting voices? - What risks arise when dissent is silenced? A Different Perspective Suppressing dissent can stifle necessary reform. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corruption Infinite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption-infinite-4859592/) [Dissenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissenting-633764/) [Dissenting Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissenting-voice-633761/) [Open Corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-corruption-2875031/) [Value Dissenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-dissenting-4859591/) ## Related quotes > [You know, this entire industry, and its not just this industry, it's most people in media, come from one point of view. One. 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Taney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-b-taney/) > [Recognize that dissenting opinions are useful even when they're wrong, and go out of your way to reward them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-grant/recognize-that-dissenting-opinions-are-useful-even-when-they-re-wrong/) [Adam Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-grant/) > [Unlike lions and dogs, we are a dissenting animal. We need to dissent in the same way that we need to travel, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bly/unlike-lions-and-dogs-we-are-a-dissenting-animal-we-need-to-dissent/) [Carol Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bly/) > [We must continually remind students in the classroom that expression of different opinions and dissenting ideas affirms the intellectual process. We should forcefully explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bell-hooks/we-must-continually-remind-students-in-the-classroom-that-expression/) [Bell Hooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bell-hooks/) > [Democracy to me is letting the other person speak and being dissenting without being disagreeable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malachy-mccourt/democracy-to-me-is-letting-the-other-person-speak-and-being/) [Malachy McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malachy-mccourt/) > [The modern progressive movement believes that dissenting language is objectionable, which then removes the brakes between anger and violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/the-modern-progressive-movement-believes-that-dissenting-language-is/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [Intolerance is natural and logical, for in every dissenting opinion lies an assumption of superior wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/intolerance-is-natural-and-logical-for-in-every-dissenting-opinion/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“Having a dissenting opinion on movies, music, or clothes, or owning clever or obscure possessions, is the way middle-class people fight one another for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcraney/having-a-dissenting-opinion-on-movies-music-or-clothes-or-owning/) [David McRaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcraney/) > [A dissenting minority feels free only when it can impose its will on the majority: what it abominates most is the dissent of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-dissenting-minority-feels-free-only-when-it-can-impose-its-will-on/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [My dissenting opinions, like my briefs, are intended to persuade. And sometimes one must be forceful about saying how wrong the Court's decision is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/my-dissenting-opinions-like-my-briefs-are-intended-to-persuade-and/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [We need dissenting opinions, and we need people who aren't afraid to share them. The Biden administration doesn't want this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-mast/we-need-dissenting-opinions-and-we-need-people-who-aren-t-afraid-to/) [Brian Mast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-mast/) > [Dissenting opinions are useful even when they're wrong. So instead of speaking to highly agreeable audiences, target suggestions to people with a history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-grant/dissenting-opinions-are-useful-even-when-they-re-wrong-so-instead-of/) [Adam Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-grant/) > [He's never quite got the trick of conversation, tending to hear in dissenting views, however mild, a kind of affront, an invitation to mortal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/he-s-never-quite-got-the-trick-of-conversation-tending-to-hear-in/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) ## More by Nuala O'Faolain > [“...time is the third party to every relationship.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/time-is-the-third-party-to-every-relationship/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [Novels are completed when they are finished, but the memoir changes its own conclusion by virtue of being written... I was not at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/novels-are-completed-when-they-are-finished-but-the-memoir-changes/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [Lovers are allowed to be as cruel as anything to the one who dissappoints them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/lovers-are-allowed-to-be-as-cruel-as-anything-to-the-one-who/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [If there were nothing else, reading would--obviously--be worth living for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/if-there-were-nothing-else-reading-would-obviously-be-worth-living-for/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [“...Though it seemed trivial, now, to describe a place as if what is was, was what I could see of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/though-it-seemed-trivial-now-to-describe-a-place-as-if-what-is-was/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [..though silence must add intensity to your intimate moments, it must also shrivel your soul to lie beside someone who doesn't talk to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/though-silence-must-add-intensity-to-your-intimate-moments-it-must/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [“States have no goodness. They suppress these villains here and promote those villains there, with no aim but self-aggrandizement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/states-have-no-goodness-they-suppress-these-villains-here-and-promote/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [“...when I was young, I learned to feel for the harshness under every soft appearance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/when-i-was-young-i-learned-to-feel-for-the-harshness-under-every-soft/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [“I tried not to think about it. But every so often it would burst out of me - why did he do something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/i-tried-not-to-think-about-it-but-every-so-often-it-would-burst-out/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [My life burned inside me. Even such as it was, it was the only record of me, and it was my only creation, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/my-life-burned-inside-me-even-such-as-it-was-it-was-the-only-record/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [I did believe, from my experience of life and of looking at the world, that men hated women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/i-did-believe-from-my-experience-of-life-and-of-looking-at-the-world/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [“There was nothing between the man and me - - nothing, not even liking. But because of the memory of some wholeness, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/there-was-nothing-between-the-man-and-me-nothing-not-even-liking-but/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [“What makes a woman into a doormat? What makes her see some quite ordinary other person as a looming Goliath? And are not these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/what-makes-a-woman-into-a-doormat-what-makes-her-see-some-quite/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [“They're fathers second, Jimmy said. They're men first.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/they-re-fathers-second-jimmy-said-they-re-men-first/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) > [“But you know, there's one simple thing I see absolutely clearly, now that I am so very old. I looked at her. The Albert…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/but-you-know-there-s-one-simple-thing-i-see-absolutely-clearly-now/) [Nuala O'Faolain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) [Explore all 26 Nuala O'Faolain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/) ## More Dissenting Voice quotes > [Why the critics, like a flock of ducks, always move in perfect unison: Their authority with the public depends upon an appearance of unanimous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/why-the-critics-like-a-flock-of-ducks-always-move-in-perfect-unison/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [You know, this entire industry, and its not just this industry, it's most people in media, come from one point of view. One. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-cain/you-know-this-entire-industry-and-its-not-just-this-industry-it-s/) [Will Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-cain/) [Browse all 3 Dissenting Voice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissenting-voice-633761/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What is not challenged from outside is open to corruption from within. -This is the infinite value of a dissenting voice: that where it is not allowed to flourish, an institution- a school or an orphanage or a government or a media consensus…begins to slide toward allowing its worst energies into play.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nuala O'Faolain" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/what-is-not-challenged-from-outside-is-open-to-corruption-from-within/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dissenting Voice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/what-is-not-challenged-from-outside-is-open-to-corruption-from-within/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/nuala-o-faolain-22668_dissenting-voice_what-is-not-challenged-from-outside-is-o_3016287.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/nuala-o-faolain-22668_dissenting-voice_what-is-not-challenged-from-outside-is-o_3016287.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/965/nuala-o-faolain-22668_dissenting-voice_what-is-not-challenged-from-outside-is-o_3016287.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is not challenged from outside is open to corruption from within. -This is the infinite value of a…” — Nuala O'Faolain", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Nuala O'Faolain", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nuala-o-faolain/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What is not challenged from outside...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/what-is-not-challenged-from-outside-is-open-to-corruption-from-within/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nuala-o-faolain/what-is-not-challenged-from-outside-is-open-to-corruption-from-within/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```