It is error alone which needs the support of government. Truth can stand by itself.

A claim that has to be shielded from questioning is telling you something about itself. Whatever is actually so can survive being poked at, and usually gets sharper for it. The impulse to silence an objection rather than answer it tends to come from the weaker side of an argument, whoever happens to hold the power at the time.

Watch for this in yourself first. When you find you would rather a challenge simply went away, ask whether you could answer it if you had to. If you can, it costs you nothing. If you cannot, you have learned something worth more than winning.