Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comment on this quoteShare via Email Print this Page Daily Quotes Archives2004-02-08 Feb 6, 2004No more fatuous chimera has ever infested the brain than that you can control opinions by law or direct belief by statute, and no more pernicious sentiment ever tormented the heart than the barbarous desire to do so. The field of inquiry should remain open, and the right of debate must be regarded as a sacred right.~ William E. BorahIf the human body's obscene, complain to the manufacturer, not me.~ Larry FlyntThe spectacle of a judge pouring over the picture of some nude, trying to ascertain the extent to which she arouses prurient interests, and then attempting to write an opinion which explains the difference between that nude and some other nude has elements of low comedy.~ Thurman Arnold Feb 5, 2004The use of “religion” as an excuse to repress the freedom of expression and to deny human rights is not confined to any country or time.~ Margaret AtwoodThe freedom to share one’s insights and judgments verbally or in writing is, just like the freedom to think, a holy and inalienable right of humanity that, as a universal human right, is above all the rights of princes.~ Carl Friedrich BahrdtWhat censorship accomplishes, creating an unreal and hypocritical mythology, fomenting an attraction for forbidden fruit, inhibiting the creative minds among us and fostering an illicit trade. Above all, it curtails the right of the individual, be he creator or consumer, to satisfy his intellect and his interest without harm. In our law-rooted society, we are not the keeper of our brother’s morals – only of his rights.~ Judith Crist Feb 4, 2004If the author of the Declaration of Independence were to utter such a sentiment today, the Post Office Department could exclude him from the mail, grand juries could indict him for sedition and criminal syndicalism, legislative committees could seize his private papers ... and United States Senators would be clamoring for his deportation that he... should be sent back to live with the rest of the terrorists.~ Frank I. CobbVery few established institutions, governments and constitutions...are ever destroyed by their enemies until they have been corrupted and weakened by their friends.~ Walter LippmannIf you give me six lines written by the most honest man, I will find something in them to hang him.~ Cardinal Richelieu Feb 3, 2004There are all kinds of devices invented for the protection and preservation of countries: defensive barriers, forts, trenches, and the like... But prudent minds have as a natural gift one safeguard which is the common possession of all, and this applies especially to the dealings of democracies. What is this safeguard? Skepticism. This you must preserve. This you must retain. If you can keep this, you need fear no harm.~ DemosthenesAll bad precedents began as justifiable measures.~ Gaius Julius CaesarThe first sign of corruption in a society that is still alive is that the end justifies the means.~ Georges Bernanos Feb 2, 2004Another source of power in government is a military force. But this, to be efficient, must be superior to any force that exists among the people, or which they can command; for otherwise this force would be annihilated, on the first exercise of acts of oppression. Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States. A military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power, and jealousy will instantly inspire the inclination, to resist the execution of a law which appears to them unjust and oppressive.~ Noah WebsterThe patriot volunteer, fighting for country and his rights, makes the most reliable soldier on earth.~ Thomas J. Jackson Previous week's quotes Next week's quotes Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print