Freedom Of Speech Quotes

• If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.

  George Orwell

  Inspirational, Life, Freedom

  "The Freedom of the Press" (1945)

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• Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself. It is a hallmark of an authoritarian regime.

  Potter Stewart

  Society, Censorship In Books, Censoring Books

  "United States v. Ginzburg, 383 U.S. 463". Dissenting opinion, 1965.

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• This is slavery, not to speak one's thought.

  Euripides

  Freedom, Literature, Slavery

  Euripides (2013). “Euripides IV: Helen, The Phoenician Women, Orestes”, p.114, University of Chicago Press

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  Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage.

  Winston Churchill

  Business, Humorous, Hypocrite

  Winston Churchill (1952). “War Speeches: From September 11, 1943 to August 16, 1945”

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• Goebbels was in favor of free speech for views he liked. So was Stalin. If you’re really in favor of free speech, then you’re in favor of freedom of speech for precisely the views you despise. Otherwise, you’re not in favor of free speech.

  Noam Chomsky

  Views, Favors, Politics

  "Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media". Documentary, Biography, War, www.imdb.com. 1992.

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  Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Freedom, Independent, Science

  Andrew M. Allison, Willard Cleon Skousen, M. Richard Maxfield, Benjamin Franklin (1982). “The Real Benjamin Franklin”

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• If we don't believe in free expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.

  Noam Chomsky

  Inspirational, Relationship, Freedom

  Interview with John Pilger on BBC's "The Late Show", November 25, 1992.

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• A people which is able to say everything becomes able to do everything.

  Napoleon Bonaparte

  Freedom, War, People

  Napoleon Bonaparte “Napoleon in his own words from the French of Jules Bertaut”, Рипол Классик

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• I think if we ban certain religions, if we censor the Internet, I think that at that point the terrorists will have won.

  Rand Paul

  Thinking, Religion, Censorship

  Source: cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com

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• I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it.

  Evelyn Beatrice Hall

  Inspirational, Funny, Life

  "The Paris unity march shows we must protect freedom of expression, not curtail it further" by Julie Posetti, January 11, 2015.

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• To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.

  Frederick Douglass

  Patriotic, Rights, Literature

  Frederick Douglass (2013). “Selected Addresses of Frederick Douglass”, p.56, Simon and Schuster

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• Where there is a great deal of free speech there is always a certain amount of foolish speech.

  Winston Churchill

  Foolish, Free Speech, Certain

  Winston Churchill (2001). “The Wicked Wit of Winston Churchill”, Michael O'Mara Books

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• Freedom of speech encompasses precisely the freedom to annoy, to ridicule, and to offend.

  Robert Spencer

  Speech, Annoying, Ridicule

  Robert Spencer (2006). “The Truth About Muhammad: Founder of the World's Most Intolerant Religion”, p.13, Regnery Publishing

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• When even one American - who has done nothing wrong - is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth - then all Americans are in peril.

  Harry S. Truman

  Fear, War, Marijuana

  United States. President (1945-1953 : Truman), Harry S. Truman (1965). “Harry S. Truman: Containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and Statements of the President, 1945-53”

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• Without Freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom;and no such thing as public liberty, without freedom of speech.

  Benjamin Franklin

  Wisdom, Freedom, Patriotic

  Benjamin Franklin (2016). “Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: new annotated edition”, p.28, MarcoPolo

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• Censorship' is a term pertaining only to governmental action. No private action is censorship. No private individual or agency can silence a man or suppress a publication; only the government can do so. The freedom of speech of private individuals includes the right not to agree, not to listen and not to finance one's own antagonists.

  Ayn Rand

  Men, Agency, Silence

  Ayn Rand (1988). “The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z”, p.85, Penguin

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• Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.

  Salman Rushdie

  Freedom, Games, Speech

  Excerpts From Rushdie's Address: 1,000 Days 'Trapped Inside a Metaphor', archive.nytimes.com. December 12, 1991.

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• Free expression is the base of human rights, the root of human nature and the mother of truth. To kill free speech is to insult human rights, to stifle human nature and to suppress truth.

  Liu Xiaobo

  Mother, Truth, Freedom

  "Liu Xiaobo: 'No Enemies, No Hatred,' Only Courage". Statement prepared for court, www.npr.org. February 16, 2012.

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• I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so.

  Barack Obama

  Acceptance, Rights, People

  Biography/Personal Quotes, www.imdb.com.

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• Freedom of speech is useless without freedom of thought.

  Spiro T. Agnew

  Useless, Speech, Freedom Of Thought

  John R. Coyne, Spiro T. Agnew (1972). “The Impudent Snobs: Agnew Vs. the Intellectual Establishment”, New Rochelle, N.Y. : Arlington House

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• This is, in theory, still a free country, but our politically correct, censorious times are such that many of us tremble to give vent to perfectly acceptable views for fear of condemnation. Freedom of speech is thereby imperiled, big questions go undebated, and great lies become accepted, unequivocally as great truths.

  Simon Heffer

  Country, Freedom, Lying

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• I think freedom of speech is important, but coupled with responsibility.

  Brandon Boyd

  Responsibility, Thinking, Important

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• Freedom of speech doesn't protect speech you like; it protects speech you don't like.

  Larry Flynt

  Speech, You Like It, Protect

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• Silence is golden but when it threatens your freedom it's yellow.

  Edmund Burke

  Yellow, Silence, Golden

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• Freedom of speech and of the press are essential to the enlightenment of a free people and in restraining those who wield power.

  Felix Frankfurter

  People, Enlightenment, Essentials

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