Best 392 quotes in «freedom of speech quotes» category

In libel, truth is an absolute defence. If writers and publishers can justify what they say, they may leave the court without punishment. In privacy cases, truth is not a defence but an irrelevance. The law intervenes not because the reports are false, but because they tell too much truth for the subject to cope with, and open him up to mockery, to pain … to disrespect. Privacy rights allowed the wealthy to suppress criticisms, even though the criticisms were true. They could demand respect, even though they were not respectable.

In order to be able to think, you have to risk being offensive.

In many respects, the United States is a great country. Freedom of speech is protected more than in any other country. It is also a very free society. In America, the professor talks to the mechanic. They are in the same category.

It all starts with suppression of a few freedoms and before you know it, you can't speak with out permission from the authorities. And then finally you wake up and you know what? It is too late.

It is free speech, just edited into defeat.

It is not certain whether the effects of totalitarianism upon verse need be so deadly as its effects on prose. There is a whole series of converging reasons why it is somewhat easier for a poet than a prose writer to feel at home in an authoritarian society.[...]what the poet is saying- that is, what his poem "means" if translated into prose- is relatively unimportant, even to himself. The thought contained in a poem is always simple, and is no more the primary purpose of the poem than the anecdote is the primary purpose of the picture. A poem is an arrangement of sounds and associations, as a painting is an arrangement of brushmarks. For short snatches, indeed, as in the refrain of a song, poetry can even dispense with meaning altogether.

It is up-hill work to oppose our prejudices; we have a democracy, but freedom of speech is enjoyed only by the most foolish members of this Assembly and by the comic poets in the theatre. As, however, I am not here to court your votes, I shall say what I think...

It is there, where they burn books, that eventually they burn people.

It seemed that freedom of expression had run amuck, or had run as far as the Government would allow it to go.

It's freedom of speech, not freedom from consequences and/or ridicule.

It's long been a point of mine that the freedom of religion, which this country alleges to support, works two ways. We're not only free to practice the religion of our choice, we should be free from having someone else's religion practiced on us.

In these controversial times we believe the First Amendment and freedom of the press are absolutely essential to the survival of our nation.

It was all about words. If words weren't important, they wouldn't try so hard to take them away.

I wish there is a world where any one can know the truth and speak there mind with freedom without having to fear for their lives (Rinko, Basara, Vol. 13)

I want to be part of the happiness team - let's create the happiness team - from love, not greed, love of life & our planet, true & free.

Journalism can be lethal

Let every writer tell his own lies That's freedom of the press.

Liberty is too precious a thing to be buried in books. Humans should hold it up in their hands every single day of their lives and say from the deepest fathoms of their soul – “I am free – to think – to speak – to act – the way a real, novel, civilized being should – my ancestors couldn’t, but I can, and my children will”.

Let your eyes see what they see, not what others want you to see. Let your ears hear what they naturally hear, not what others want you to hear. Let your mouth speak your mind freely and not be constrained by other people's approval or disapproval. Let your mind think what it wants to think and not let other people's demands dictate your thoughts. If your senses and your mind are not allowed to do what they want to do naturally, you are denying them their rights. When you cannot think, sense, feel, or act freely, then your body and mind are injured. Break these oppressions, and you will cultivate life.

Like fighting evil, pushing back tyranny is ever an uphill battle.

It’s not the word that’s important, it’s the right to say any word you want to and to form any sentence you want to, that’s the point and once they start to legally restrict what we can say and what we can’t say then we are on a slippery slope to authoritarianism.” “We’re talking about racists,” said Karen. “No one should be allowed to be racist,” said Mark. “But that’s not down to the Government or the courts,” said Rob desperately, “that should be down to us, we should make it difficult for people to be racist, we should frown upon such language and activity, it should be by peer pressure that we stop people from being abusive and unpleasant, not down to the Government.” “Why not?” demanded Karen, “they make the laws so it’s down to them to make the punishments.” “It’s not about punishment,” pressed Rob, “it’s about morality and social conscience, it’s about standing up for what’s right versus moral laziness, it’s about courage versus cowardice.

Jeg haver ofte recommenderet Friehed i at skrive, og anseet de publiqve Censurer som Baand og Lænker for den Lærde Verden. Jeg haver alleene holdet for, at Skrive-Friehed ikke burde tillades uden dem, der have naaet en moed Alder; og er jeg der udi bleven bestyrket, efterdi jeg paa nogen Tiid haver seet unge Personer, førend de have faaet Skiæg paa Hagen, at føre Pennen i de delicateste Materier saavel politiske som moralske. Det er om saadanne, som man bør sige med David:Lader dem blive i Jericho, indtil deres Skiægge voxe.

Liberty is the ultimate means to express yourself. Without liberty, you have nothing except the two-dimensional notion of freedom. The difference between freedom and liberty is simple: freedom is like having a million dollars and never spending it. Or being allowed to spend it. You simply have it in your bank account, the illusion you are wealthy. You may as well have two cents in your account if all you have is freedom. Liberty, however, is freedom in motion, the right or license to express this freedom and go out and actively do something with it. Like spending that million dollars. Without liberty, freedom is a fool's paradise.

Lies in meinen Augen, was ich dir nicht alles sagen kann.

Like combating evil, pushing back tyranny is ever an uphill battle.

Lose your freedom, and become a slave by borrowing.

Media who pretend to write stories about groups whose voices are never heard but write almost universally through the lens of western men instead, are ensuring that all interpretations and solutions come from the same small segment of society.

Mainly, it’s not that there are things you can’t say. It’s that there are things you can’t say without the risk that people who previously lacked a voice might use their own freedom of speech to object.

Man is the storytelling animal, the only creature on earth that told itself stories to understand what kind of creature it was. The story was his birthright, and nobody could take it away.

Men are different; sheep are all alike.

Most people mostly use freedom of speech as freedom to bitch.

My English is a new English.

Natural isn't the same as right. Normal isn't the same as moral. Everyone deserves a say in what happens to the world.

My freedom to say 'No' directly underscores your freedom to say 'Yes'. RESPECT my freedom to PROTECT your freedom.

No man voluntarily expresses his opinion without some intent to make a difference, and even if he does, he shouldn't.

Nous Sommes Voltaire

Most people do not really want others to have freedom of speech, they just want others to be given the freedom to say want they want to hear.

Not enough people know or understand just how little freedom we have left.

Oil may run out, liquidity may dry up, but as long as ink flows freely, the next chapter of Life will continue to be written.

Now we lie here, a decapitated generation, our child-like names vanishing on tombstones, can't you see? Once there was Rock 'n' Roll, freedom of speech, baroque picnics on miraculous boats, there was resurrection on romantic lakes, there were melting kisses under golden trees, there was ticking laughter, clicking metaphors, there were wine and poetic sex, beauty...

Nu mă pot lăsa posedat de un eveniment, oricât ar fi el de actual și de catastrofal. Îl discut un ceas, două, încerc să-l înțeleg, mă acomodez sau nu mă acomodez cu el, dar apoi trec mai departe și mă ocup de altceva. Măcar atâta libertate să mai profităm cât ni se îngăduie: libertatea de a ne alege subiectele de reflecție, de conversație sau glumă...

Or, to choose another example, we feel that freedom of speech is the last step in the march of victory of freedom. We forget that, although freedom of speech constitutes an important victory in the battle against old restraints, modern man is in a position where much of what "he" thinks and says are the things that everybody else thinks and says; that he has not acquired the ability to think originally—that is, for himself—which alone gives meaning to his claim that nobody can interfere with the expression of his thoughts. Again, we are proud that in his conduct of life man has become free from external authorities, which tell him what to do and what not to do. We neglect the role of the anonymous authorities like public opinion and "common sense," which are so powerful because of our profound readiness to conform to the expectations everybody has about ourselves and our equally profound fear of being different. In other words, we are fascinated by the growth of freedom from powers outside of ourselves and are blinded to the fact of inner restraints, compulsions, and fears, which tend to undermine the meaning of the victories freedom has won against its traditional enemies. We therefore are prone to think that the problem of freedom is exclusively that of gaining still more freedom of the kind we have gained in the course of modern history, and to believe that the defense of freedom against such powers that deny such freedom is all that is necessary. We forget that, although each of the liberties which have been won must be defended with utmost vigor, the problem of freedom is not only a quantitative one, but a qualitative one; that we not only have to preserve and increase the traditional freedom, but that we have to gain a new kind of freedom, one which enables us to realize our own individual self, to have faith in this self and in life.

Onde se queimam livros, acaba-se queimando pessoas

One of the curious aspects of the Twenty-First Century was the great delusion amongst many people, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, that freedom of speech and freedom of expression were best exercised on technological platforms owned by corporations dedicated to making as much money as possible.

People don't often say what they think but rather what they think is permissible.

Patrick Henry said ‘give me liberty or give me death.’ I think his famous quote makes it crystal clear that the Constitutional framework of this country values liberty as an essential element of life, worth dying for. If something is worth such a sacrifice, how can the loss of it be justified for the argument that it will make us safer to give up our liberty and our civil rights? Are we to tell the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers of all the soldiers lost in foreign wars that it was all a big lie? That they died for nothing?

Pick a leader who will make their citizens proud. One who will stir the hearts of the people, so that the sons and daughters of a given nation strive to emulate their leader's greatness. Only then will a nation be truly great, when a leader inspires and produces citizens worthy of becoming future leaders, honorable decision makers and peacemakers. And in these times, a great leader must be extremely brave. Their leadership must be steered only by their conscience, not a bribe.

Please wake me when I'm free I cannot bear captivity 4 I would rather be stricken blind Than 2 live without expression of mind

Probably most of you who live at these sides of the world! Really believe in Freedom of SPEECH! RELIGION! human RIGHTS! EQUAL RIGHTS! And So on... But let me to tell you a real life story of my own life! Yes my own life and I believe many others who are at these sides of the world! But no one hear them! These people who shout about human right! Equal right! Freedom of speech! Freedom of religion! Yes THEY destroy 7 years of my life! And yet they CLAIM that they respect all people rights and believe that all people rights should be equal and all people should have freedom of speech and religion. NOW! Wait a MINUTE sir! How do you know how I feel at the moment! What I think at the moment and what is my situation at the moment! If you don’t put yourself instead of ME! ? You judge for what you think is right! But you never try to understand my situation!!! I am getting punished for something that I Had no choice about it!!! Yet there are people among you and you CALL them SIR! While they are the most guilty person ever you can find. Shame of the judgement system! I Promise ONE day you will understand that you were WRONG about ME!

Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us." [The One Un-American Act, Speech to the Author's Guild Council in New York, on receiving the 1951 Lauterbach Award (December 3, 1952)]