dare not

“Grinning, arrogant, sharp-witted — and alive — Chessman, committer of indescribable crimes, is a heavy reproach to the state’s conscience,” The Times argued, saying his supporters were ignorant of the gravity of his crimes “because the newspapers dare not publish the horrible details.”

As most people in the reality-based community have noticed by now, operatives of the right habitually project every desire they dare not express onto their opponents.

“We dare not tarry, as the servants will soon be back and the Princess and Lady Augusta will be returning from the Turkish bath. Time is short. But then, time is always running out for mice, don’t you find?”

“Some dare not take responsibility, wait timidly for orders from above, and don’t move without being pushed.”

So it is that we dare not lose sight of Alexis de Tocqueville’s trenchant observation nearly two centuries ago: “To get the inestimable good that freedom of the press assures, one must know how to submit to the inevitable evil it gives rise to.”