In the mid-nineteenth century, bloody battles erupted across the United States, pitting brother against brother and father against son. The causes of this war were the issues of slavery and state's rights; But more importantly, the catalyst for the Civil War was the tension in the air caused by the South's dissent from the North. Dissent is a radically different concept from the idea of ​​disagreement. If Northern and Southern states simply disagreed over slavery and states' rights issues, the Civil War would be just a fraction of what it could have been. Disagreement leads to arguments while dissent leads to arguments, and the distinction Boorstin makes between the two is entirely accurate. Disagreement can be caused by a multitude of factors. You may disagree with the majority because their pride has been hurt, because communication has broken down, or because they simply refuse to listen to any point of view except your own. Dissent is dangerous because it is first and foremost a factor of pride, something that is very dear to every individual. There are times, however, when disagreement may be caused by something else. When rhetorical communication breaks down, dissent can and will occur. Misunderstandings are sensitive situations and must be resolved accordingly. For example, Dallas City Commissioner John Wiley Price recently disagreed with a citizen, telling the citizen and others in the courtroom to “go to hell!” Citizen Price got into an altercation calling him "Chief Mullah" in an attempt to be smart. However, the citizen pronounced “mullah” (the name of an Islamic cardinal) as “moolah,” a highly offensive racial slur. Price does not tolerate racial slurs, and so the cry... at the heart of the paper... from Congress is that minorities and factions exist: dissent exists, not disagreements. Verbal fights occur rather than actual arguments, and this is what kills democracy. That's why things never get done. In his speech, Obama says that a “robust democracy” requires contentious debate in which people fight for their beliefs. In some respects he is right. However, if he includes dissent in this robust democracy, he is greatly mistaken. Dissent ostracizes and condemns individuals because of what they believe, which is clearly not something that a robust democracy requires. “We are part of the American family,” the president said. To be part of this family we cannot exclude its members from the freedom to speak and express their ideas. Dissent hinders these capabilities and therefore can truly be considered the cancer of democracy.