Emma and Doremus Jessup’s opposite reactions show why critical thinking is key to stopping tyranny. Many Americans might respond to Windrip’s platform at face value, like Emma, because they assume that it only represents Windrip’s sincere policy proposals. But others, like Doremus, read between the lines and recognize that the platform’s purpose is largely rhetorical—it’s designed to project a specific image, as much as advance specific policy goals. In reality, Doremus realizes, all of Windrip’s plans to help ordinary people are merely optional, while all of his plans to restructure the government and give himself more power will be irreversible. In other words, Windrip’s platform is just a toolbox for creating a totalitarian dictatorship further on down the line.