Quote Originally Posted by Ariovistus Maximus View Post
A dictator can also function quite well if the masses are too ignorant to know what he' up to or to stand up to him. ;)

Stupidity is not freedom. Stupidity lessens your freedom.

Except in the sense that if you are so ignorant that you don't know what freedom IS, I guess you wouldn't miss it...

Education is essential to the preservation of a free state.

Want to verify that with the historical record? Go ahead; it's all there.

You will notice a pattern that the uneducated people are the ones doing manual labor for the educated ones...
I am sure the school children of North Korea are well educated about the greatness of Kim Jong Il.

Knowledge alone cannot grant anyone freedom; nor can a critical view on things. But a combination of knowledge and a critical view, I am sure can help keeping dictators at bay; as long as it found in masses, of course. I keep pledges and national anthems as far away from me as possible as a means of preserving a critical view.