What the demonstrators are calling for is not only a more satisfactory response to their arguments, but also a more mutually respectful community. They hold that the basic needs of all should be recognized and that policymakers should listen and respond in good faith to well-considered moral objections to their policies—and be open to persuasion by good reasons even if they are offered by people less powerful than themselves. They deserve our support.
Alyssa R. Bernstein is a fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government.
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