Best 392 quotes in «freedom of speech quotes» category

A man is entitled to say whatever he wants to say. It's America, freedom of speech.

Among all the accomplishments of youth there is none preferable to a decent and agreeable behavior among men, a modest freedom of speech, a soft and elegant manner of address, a graceful and lovely deportment, a cheerful gravity and good-humor, with a mind appearing ever serene under the ruffling accidents of human life.

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.

Because if you don't stand up for the stuff you don't like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you've already lost.

Authoritative interpretations of the First Amendment guarantees have consistently refused to recognize an exception for any test of truth whether administered by judges, juries, or administrative officials and especially one that puts the burden of proving truth on the speaker.

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

As politicians we have to make very difficult decisions and one...is when freedom of speech actually insults public safety.

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'.

Because of the free speech clause in the First Amendment, which is very clear, "The government shall make no law abridging freedom of speech," and it literally is about political speech. You can say anything you want about politics, a candidate, and the government cannot stop you. And the Democrats hate that.

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

but I had also learned that freedom of speech means freedom from rhetoric.

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

Books won't stay banned. They won't burn. Ideas won't go to jail.

Debate on public issues should be uninhibited, robust and wide-open and that...may well include vehement, caustic, and sometimes unpleasantly sharp attacks on government and public officials.

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

Direct and easy communications — freedom of speech in all forms and in its broadest sense — has become vital to the very survival of a civilized humanity.

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.

Every legislative limitation upon utterance, however valid, may in a particular case serve as an inroad upon the freedom of speech which the Constitution protects.

Dissents speak to a future age. It's not simply to say, 'My colleagues are wrong and I would do it this way.' But the greatest dissents do become court opinions and gradually over time their views become the dominant view. So that's the dissenter's hope: that they are writing not for today but for tomorrow.

Freedom of expression is actually a way for people to know themselves better, and to understand themselves better. Because without it, you become a stranger to yourself.

For the average American, freedom of speech is simply the freedom to repeat what everyone else is saying and no more.

Freedom includes the right to say what others may object to and resent... The essence of citizenship is to be tolerant of strong and provocative words.

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.

Freedom of speech gives you the right to stay silent.

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

Freedom of thought, freedom of speech, freedom of identity. This is my Holy Trinity, each one an intrinsic aspect of my god: Freedom, the Holiest of Holies. Yes it bloody well is. It is absolutely sacred and inviolable, beyond any negotiation or compromise, now and forever. Amen.

Freedom of speech and the press must be complete. But then freedom of association must be complete too.

Freedom of speech does not mean freedom of offending culture, religion or traditions.

Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from judgement.

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

Freedom of speech is a great thing and we have said nothing that is not allowed.

Free speech is the cornerstone to every right we have.

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.

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

Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins. Republics and limited monarchies derive their strength and vigor from a popular examination into the action of the magistrates.

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.

Freedom of thought and freedom of speech in our great institutions are absolutely necessary for the preservation of our country. The moment either is restricted, liberty begins to wither and die.

Freedom of speech doesn't guarantee great literature.

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

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

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

I am a victim-oriented person. I like to see that the victims know that they have a voice.

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.

Hundreds of political prisoners still suffer in Tibetan prisons. Freedom of speech is not allowed in any sense. It is illegal to possess a photo of the Dalai Lama.

I am aware that America is and must always be a land of freedom including freedom of speech. But there is a right time and place for everything

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.

I am a believer in liberty . That is my religion to give to every other human being every right that I claim for myself, and I grant to every other human being, not the right because it is his right but instead of granting I declare that it is his right, to attack every doctrine that I maintain, to answer every argument that I may urge in other words, he must have absolute freedom of speech.

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.

If you want to be free, or you want to preserve freedom for people, you both need to have laws that make it so people have freedom of speech and all the freedoms that they need. You also need to have an open governance system where people can vote and people have representation.

I am sure that as soon as speech was invented, efforts to suppress and control it began, and that process of suppression continues unabated.