474 Quotes About Freedom-of-speech

Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear."[Special Message to the Congress on the Internal Security of the United States, August 8, 1950]

There are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.

If you're not going to use your free speech to criticize your own government, then what the hell is the point of having it?

I have an opinion and I'm not scared to use it.

[Blog post, March 10, 2014]

The moment you say that any idea system is sacred, whether it’s a religious belief system or a secular ideology, the moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision, or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible."[Defend the right to be offended (openDemocracy, 7 February 2005)]

Remember, we all make our work available in a commercial transaction, the terms of which we, ourselves, dictate. If we give it away for free, that’s our decision, and there is no refuge in the lame defense, “what do you want for nothing?” The buyer does not waive his right to express his opinion."[Thick Skin and Bad Reviews, Blog post, June 26, 2013]

EQUAL RIGHTS and FREE DISCUSSION will be fearlessly advocated and maintained. Sectarian dogmas or tenets will be investigated and compared.

they have two sets of opinions. they've got the opinions that they actually feel, and they've got the opinions that they know they can express in public... it used to be the case that they were the same.