--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of course, at some point you had to ask…" description: "\"“Of course, at some point you had to ask yourself how much legitimacy any government had that feared dissension within more than invasion from without,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae4/yoon-ha-lee-25466_ask-yourself_of-course-at-some-point-you-had-to-ask-y_2501426.jpg" --- # Of course, at some point you had to ask yourself how much… ![“Of course, at some point you had to ask yourself how much legitimacy any government had that feared dissension within more than invasion from without, but” quote by Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae4/yoon-ha-lee-25466_ask-yourself_of-course-at-some-point-you-had-to-ask-y_2501426.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae4/yoon-ha-lee-25466_ask-yourself_of-course-at-some-point-you-had-to-ask-y_2501426.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae4/yoon-ha-lee-25466_ask-yourself_of-course-at-some-point-you-had-to-ask-y_2501426.jpg) > ““Of course, at some point you had to ask yourself how much legitimacy any government had that feared dissension within more than invasion from without, but”” [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Governments fear internal dissent more than external invasion, questioning their legitimacy. **In simple terms:** Internal unrest challenges authority. Key Takeaway Balance security with legitimate governance. Themes politics legitimacy dissent security Mood cautious analytical Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - policy making - public discourse - civil unrest - foreign relations Key Concepts social contract authoritarianism national identity Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards protect against internal dissent? - How does external pressure affect internal stability? A Different Perspective External threats can also erode legitimacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dissension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissension/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) ## Related quotes > [An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/an-oppressive-government-is-more-to-be-feared-than-a-tiger/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Throughout the world, the very moment a legitimate government starts fascist implementations, it loses its legitimacy! 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But what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahm-emanuel/i-mean-you-will-have-an-afghan-government-there-are-two-roads-here/) [Rahm Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahm-emanuel/) > [Governmental defense of any theology necessarily weakens the legitimacy of both the government and the theology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taslima-nasrin/governmental-defense-of-any-theology-necessarily-weakens-the/) [Taslima Nasrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taslima-nasrin/) > [When governments go too far to punish people for actions that are dissent rather than a real threat to the nation, they risk delegitimizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/when-governments-go-too-far-to-punish-people-for-actions-that-are/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [ I hope President \[Hamid\] Karzai understands that our national security interests don't depend entirely on his decision there whether to allow a recount. Obviously… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahm-emanuel/i-hope-president-hamid-karzai-understands-that-our-national-security/) [Rahm Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahm-emanuel/) > [But Satan, the god of all dissension, stirreth up daily new sects, and last of all (which of all other I should never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/but-satan-the-god-of-all-dissension-stirreth-up-daily-new-sects-and/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [ “Here they \[the Jaredites\] became a flourishing nation; but, giving way in time to internal dissensions, they divided into factions, which warred with one… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-e-talmage/here-they-the-jaredites-became-a-flourishing-nation-but-giving-way-in/) [James E. 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Morison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-e-morison/) > [Nothing is more sweet than harmony in marriage, and nothing more distressing than dissension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/nothing-is-more-sweet-than-harmony-in-marriage-and-nothing-more/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [It's a little hard to avoid putting both war and politics in, in that they both come into the activity, but on their own.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergio-leone/it-s-a-little-hard-to-avoid-putting-both-war-and-politics-in-in-that/) [Sergio Leone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergio-leone/) > [“I know quite well why I became a historian… It was because dissension was frowned upon when I was a child: 'Don't argue, Claudia,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-know-quite-well-why-i-became-a-historian-it-was-because-dissension/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) ## More by Yoon Ha Lee > [“There’s no honor,” she said. “Only duty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/there-s-no-honor-she-said-only-duty/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“I do my job,” Mikodez said, “because after all the trouble I went to get it, it would be irresponsible not to.” He”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/i-do-my-job-mikodez-said-because-after-all-the-trouble-i-went-to-get/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“Immortality didn’t turn you into a monster. 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They were adamant about their spiced cabbage pickles.) Appearance-wise”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/cabbages-were-a-kel-idiosyncrasy-they-were-adamant-about-their-spiced/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“Never ascribe to irrational benevolence what selfishness will explain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/never-ascribe-to-irrational-benevolence-what-selfishness-will-explain/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“Some of the soldiers made disparaging comments about the fact that he was a womanform when they thought he couldn’t hear them. But his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/some-of-the-soldiers-made-disparaging-comments-about-the-fact-that-he/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“The point of war is to rig the deck, drug the opponent, and threaten to kneecap their family if they don’t fold,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/the-point-of-war-is-to-rig-the-deck-drug-the-opponent-and-threaten-to/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“I’m not a linguist, but do you ever think there’s something wrong with the things we do and don’t have words for?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/i-m-not-a-linguist-but-do-you-ever-think-there-s-something-wrong-with/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“One day the rotting remains of their libraries will disintegrate so completely that they will be indistinguishable from the world’s wrack of stray eddies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/one-day-the-rotting-remains-of-their-libraries-will-disintegrate-so/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) > [“History forgives the winner a lot of things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoon-ha-lee/history-forgives-the-winner-a-lot-of-things/) [Yoon Ha Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) [Explore all 23 Yoon Ha Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoon-ha-lee/) ## More Ask yourself quotes > [“If you want to stop smoking, ask yourself, do you do it because you love nicotine, or because it provides a burst of stimulation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-duhigg/if-you-want-to-stop-smoking-ask-yourself-do-you-do-it-because-you/) [Charles Duhigg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-duhigg/) > [Cultivate the habit of thinking ahead, and of anticipating the necessary and immediate consequences of all your actions… Likewise in your pleasures, ask yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/cultivate-the-habit-of-thinking-ahead-and-of-anticipating-the/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [“I've written about persistence and perseverance and yet for those of us with patchwork lives (projects, earnings, caretaking, home-tending, playing, friending, loving, celebrating, hurting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shellen-lubin/i-ve-written-about-persistence-and-perseverance-and-yet-for-those-of/) [Shellen Lubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shellen-lubin/) > [When you experience difficulty at work or in your life, instead of looking back on it as something that was really challenging, look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-ghosn/when-you-experience-difficulty-at-work-or-in-your-life-instead-of/) [Caroline Ghosn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-ghosn/) > [“ask yourself how many people you have met who grumbled at a thing as incurable, and how many who attacked it as curable? 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