The Rising Cost of Dissent in America | Miles Taylor | TED

Former senior US national security official Miles Taylor shares a personal account that raises a broader civic concern: the growing cost of dissent in American public life. Drawing on his experience inside government and living the consequences of speaking openly, he says that the real threat to US democracy isn't the politicians or hard-liners — it's the two-thirds of Americans who don’t speak up. (This talk contains mature language.) (Recorded at TEDxMidAtlantic on November 1, 2025)

Join us in person at a TED conference: https://tedtalks.social/events
Become a TED Member to support our mission: https://ted.com/membership
Subscribe to a TED newsletter: https://ted.com/newsletters

Follow TED!
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks
Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED
X: https://www.twitter.com/TEDTalks

The TED Talks channel features the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes (or less) — plus originals, podcasts and exclusive content. Look for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design as well as science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit https://TED.com for our entire library, transcripts, translations and personalized recommendations.

Watch more: https://go.ted.com/milestaylor

https://youtu.be/VBnocNg69o4

TED videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with the TED Talks Usage Policy: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), submit a request at https://media-requests.ted.com

#TED #TEDTalks #Politics