Freedom Of Speech Quotations

The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas.

Without free speech no search for truth is possible... no discovery of truth is useful.

Freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion all have a double aspect - freedom of thought and freedom of action.

Free speech is meant to protect unpopular speech. Popular speech, by definition, needs no protection.

Freedom of speech is always under attack by Fascist mentality, which exists in all parts of the world, unfortunately.

So that's the dissenter's hope: that they are writing not for today but for tomorrow.

Better a thousandfold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech.

The freedom of the press works in such a way that there is not much freedom from it.

Laws protecting the United States flag do not cut away at the freedom of speech guaranteed in the First Amendment... Congress made this position clear upon passage of the Flag Protection Act of 1989, which prohibited desecration of the flag.

We should silence anyone who opposes the right to freedom of speech.

Censorship reflects a society's lack of confidence in itself.

A state that suppresses all freedom of speech, and which by imposing the most terrible punishments, treats each and every attempt at criticism, however morally justified, and every suggestion for improvement as plotting to high treason, is a state that breaks an unwritten law.

It seems that the right of freedom of speech that was enshrined in numerous constitutions is now under attack by religious institutions.

We have freedom of speech, but you got to watch what you say.

I grew up under Communism so we could only learn Russian, and then when Communism fell in 1989 we could learn a few more things and have the freedom to travel and the freedom of speech - and the freedom of dreaming, really.

At least in America, you have freedom of speech, which is a good thing. It's just a question of whether you're allowed to use it on 'Fox News'.

I keep telling myself to calm down, to take less of an interest in things and not to get so excited, but I still care a lot about liberty, freedom of speech and expression, and fairness in journalism.

So sometimes the facts are good and sometimes the facts are bad, the important thing from the point of view of a principle as broad and important as freedom of speech is that the courts articulate and set forth in a very protective way what those principles are.

I say let's go back to a truer use of the word 'freedom.' Let's start with President Franklin Roosevelt's Four Freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. I would add the freedom to bargain collectively. Those freedoms are under attack today.

In Iran, there is no freedom of the press, no freedom of speech, no independent judiciary, no free elections. There is no freedom of religion - not even for Shiites, who are forced by Irans theocracy to adhere to one narrow set of official rules.

We need a free media, not just freedom of speech.

Israel is a country that respects freedom - freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and freedom of worship.

I mean there's enormous pressures to harmonize freedom of speech legislation and transparency legislation around the world - within the E.U., between China and the United States. Which way is it going to go? It's hard to see.

The Bill of Rights was intended to secure freedom of speech - the freedom of speech of members of parliament to speak freely rather than be at threat of... the threat of an over powerful monarch at the time.

I am a passionate believer in freedom of speech. I would not support anything which would impinge on aggressive robust freedom of the British press, but when things go wrong and there has been outright illegality, there should be proper accountability.

When one makes a Revolution, one cannot mark time; one must always go forward - or go back. He who now talks about the 'freedom of the press' goes backward, and halts our headlong course towards Socialism.

America's greatest contribution to the world is its concept of democracy, its concept of freedom, freedom of action, freedom of speech, and freedom of thought.

And why do we, who say we oppose tyranny and demand freedom of speech, allow people to go to prison and be vilified, and magazines to be closed down on the spot, for suggesting another version of history.

A nice, easy place for freedom of speech to be eroded is comics, because comics are a natural target whenever an election comes up.

Privacy is not explicitly spelled out in the Constitution as freedom of speech is in the First Amendment.

The first principle of a free society is an untrammeled flow of words in an open forum.

We who officially value freedom of speech above life itself seem to have nothing to talk about but the weather.

Hamas is a terrorist organization dedicated to annihilating the Jewish state. It runs a theocratic totalitarian state in Gaza, with no individual liberty, and no freedom of speech or press.

Marks on paper are free - free speech - press - pictures all go together I suppose.

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

It is clear that not in one thing alone, but in many ways equality and freedom of speech are a good thing.

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president... is morally treasonable to the American public.

Freedom of speech and thought matters, especially when it is speech and thought with which we disagree. The moment the majority decides to destroy people for engaging in thought it dislikes, thought crime becomes a reality.

My desire to curtail undue freedom of speech extends only to such public areas as restaurants, airports, streets, hotel lobbies, parks, and department stores. Verbal exchanges between consenting adults in private are as of little interest to me as they probably are to them.

The dirtiest book of all is the expurgated book.

We are willing enough to praise freedom when she is safely tucked away in the past and cannot be a nuisance. In the present, amidst dangers whose outcome we cannot foresee, we get nervous about her, and admit censorship.

The current total of countries in the world with First Amendments is one. You have guaranteed freedom of speech. Other countries don't have that.

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.

The very aim and end of our institutions is just this: that we may think what we like and say what we think.

Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.

We have a natural right to make use of our pens as of our tongue, at our peril, risk and hazard.

Every man has a right to utter what he thinks truth, and every other man has a right to knock him down for it. Martyrdom is the test.

If one more 'journalist' makes a cavalier statement about me and my band, I will personally or with my fans' help, greet them at their home and discover just how much they believe in their freedom of speech.

The dimension of cultural equity needs to be added to the humane continuum of liberty, freedom of speech and religion, and social justice.

I'm for the freedom of expression, given that it will be under strict control.

I would rather put up with Rush Limbaugh and live in a country where we all do have freedom of speech.

Freedom of speech implies the world isn’t defined. It is meaningful when people are allowed to see the world their way.

The freedom of speech is an important yardstick for a society's level of civilization.

Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.

Do you know what I think white people wholly own? I think freedom of speech is a white thing. This is something that white people do. I think governments, this is a white thing.

Free speech is the bedrock of liberty and a free society. And yes, it includes the right to blaspheme and offend.

Where there is no freedom of speech, there is no conscience.

The basis of democratic freedom is freedom of speech.

Beware! Freedom of speech also includes the freedom to be misunderstood.

Journalists justify their treachery in various ways according to their temperaments. The more pompous talk about freedom of speech and ‘the public’s right to know’; the least talented talk about Art; the seemliest murmur about earning a living.

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

Gorbachev gave us freedom of worship and freedom of speech and freedom to see what was going on and freedom to vote, but that freedom won't last unless it is underpinned by economic freedom.

I grew up with the concept of freedom of speech. So I'm too old, it's too late for me to adjust to the new world, the new world order.

Freedom of speech does not mean that you have to agree with everything that a comedian says, but that comedian should have the freedom to be able to try to make that funny. It's the attempt that I'm trying to defend so hard, no necessarily the execution.

The more a government strives to curtail freedom of speech, the more obstinately is it resisted ; not indeed by the avaricious, ... but by those whom good education, sound morality, and virtue have rendered more free.

All speech should be presumed to be protected by the Constitution, and a heavy burden should be placed on those who would censor to demonstrate with relative certainty that the speech at issue, if not censored, would lead to irremediable and immediate serious harm.

We don't have an Official Secrets Act in the United States, as other countries do. Under the First Amendment, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and freedom of association are more important than protecting secrets.

Being offended by freedom of speech should never be regarded as a justification for violence.

Censorship laws are blunt instruments, not sharp scalpels. Once enacted, they are easily misapplied to merely unpopular or only marginally dangerous speech.

The threat or fear of violence should not become an excuse or justification for restricting freedom of speech.

The law is agnostic about truth. It's very skeptical of ultimate truth. That's why freedom of speech permits lies to be told.

While I've found many of the religious shows I've viewed over the years not to be to my liking, or in line with my own beliefs, I've never considered it my place to exert any greater type of censorship than changing the channel, or better yet - turning off the TV completely.

America is a country where they have freedom of speech but everyone says the same thing.

I'll defend child pornography, how about that? What's wrong with seeing some child pornography? What if you watch child pornography because you find it hilarious? Then should it not a protected freedom of speech?

Somehow freedom for religious expression has become freedom from religious expression.

The most beautiful thing in the world is freedom of speech.

Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects that interest me and there freedom of speech comes into it.

The Government may not suppress lawful speech as the means to suppress unlawful speech.

A law imposing criminal penalties on protected speech is a stark example of speech suppression.

Freedom of speech is a fundamental human right.

There will be no more protest. No more dissension. No more violence. There will be only one voice. The voice of Ravinia. The voice of Halla. Your voice." "There goes freedom of speech." I said Alexnder Naymeer and Bobby Pendragon, Raven Rise, Page 458

I vote Democrat because Freedom of Speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

The Constitution, in addition to delegating certain enumerated powers to Congress, places whole areas outside the reach of Congress' regulatory authority. The First Amendment, for example, is fittingly celebrated for preventing Congress from "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion or "abridging the freedom of speech." The Second Amendment similarly appears to contain an express limitation on the government's authority.

There is nothing more wonderful than freedom of speech.

I love freedom of speech.

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

Freedom of speech trumps political correctness. I would say our magazine would publish an anti-Semitic or Holocaust denying cartoon if it meant Jews around the world were rioting because of it and burning embassies because of a cartoon. We would want to show our readers what all the fuss was about.

I forget, is freedom of speech when it's legal to say what you want or is it when it has no consequences for some reason?

Freedom of speech is one of the greatest American liberties, and I hope this pardon serves as a reminder of the precious freedoms we are fighting to preserve as we continue to wage the war on terror.

With typical arrogance, the Anglos claimed to cherish freedom of speech but failed to recognize this right for anyone but themselves. Where did the Constitution say anything about English?

There is freedom of speech, but I cannot guarantee freedom after speech

If we were going to address what involves the biggest number of women, reproductive freedom is a fundamental human right - like freedom of speech, the most basic right. Freedom from violence, since women worldwide are still like 70% at least of all victims of violence. Equality in the family, democracy in the family, since the family is the microcosm of everything else, so if you have inequality and violence in the family, it normalizes it in the street, for foreign policy, for every place else.

The androcentric, patriarchal cultures, whatever you want to call it, are quite new. So, every economic statement should start with reproduction, not production. Every statement for human rights ought to include reproduction as a basic human right, like freedom of speech.

There's a time and a place for getting a smart mouth.

You cannot take away freedom to protect it, you cannot destroy the free market to save it, and you cannot uphold freedom of speech by silencing those with whom you disagree. To take rights away to defend them or to spend your way out of debt defies common sense.

A single party is ruling in Hungary, but democracy and the freedom of speech are still in place.

Tabloids invoke freedom of speech, but they're not interested in that, they're just interested in who's shagging whom, who's got drunk. And if you take that pretend, faux moral standpoint, you end up with people in public life being completely boring. Like they've had their genitals removed.

I think that it is high time that we remembered that we have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution. I think that it is high time that we remembered that the Constitution, as amended, speaks not only of the freedom of speech but also of trial by jury instead of trial by accusation.

Free speech is meaningless if the commercial cacophony has risen to the point where no one can hear you.

The primacy of the word, basis of the human psyche, that has in our age been used for mind-bending persuasion and brain-washing pulp, disgraced by Gobbles and debased by advertising copy, remains a force for freedom that flies out between all bars.