Freedom of speech is a principle that gives freedom to an individual or community to express their opinions and ideas freely without any fear. The right to freedom of expression is a human right granted by the United Nations.
Here we have shared some Freedom of Speech Quotes, said by many experts, which will inspire you to express your opinion without any fear. So let’s read inspirational free speech quotes.
Best Free Speech Quotes
1. “If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” ― George Washington
2. “Those who claim to be hurt by words must be led to expect nothing as compensation. Otherwise, once they learn they can get something by claiming to be hurt, they will go into the business of being offended.” ― Jonathan Rauch
3. “The right to free speech and the unrealistic expectation to never be offended can not coexist.” ― Philip Sharp
4. “Free speech is a phenomenon of human society, hate speech is an act of stone age barbarians.” ― Abhijit Naskar
5. “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” ― Søren Kierkegaard
6. “To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it.” ― G.K. Chesterton
7. “Free speech rights means that government officials are barred from creating lists of approved and disapproved political ideas and then using the power of the state to enforce those preferences.” ― Glenn Greenwald
8. “Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” ― Edward Snowden
9. “Free speech is the right to shout ‘theater’ in a crowded fire.” ― Abbie Hoffman
10. “It’s not unpatriotic to denounce an injustice committed on our behalf, perhaps it’s the most patriotic thing we can do.” ― E.A. Bucchianeri
11. “When widely followed public figures feel free to say anything, without any fact-checking, it becomes impossible for a democracy to think intelligently about big issues.” ― Thomas L. Friedman
12. “What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist.” ― Salman Rushdie
13. “To sin by silence, when they should protest, makes cowards of men.” ― Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Famous free speech quotes
14. “All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.” ― George Bernard Shaw
15. “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” ― Daniel Patrick Moynihan
16. “Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people’s idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage.” ― Winston Churchill
17. “Do not make the mistake of thinking that you have to agree with people and their beliefs to defend them from injustice.” ― Bryant McGill
18. “The struggle for a free intelligence has always been a struggle between the ironic and the literal mind.” ― Christopher Hitchens
19. “The only security of all is in a free press.” ― Thomas Jefferson
20. “The idea that you have to be protected from any kind of uncomfortable emotion is what I absolutely do not subscribe to.” ― John Cleese
21. “The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.” ― Hubert H. Humphrey
22. “The censor’s sword pierces deeply into the heart of free expression.” ― Earl Warren
23. “I should say here because some in Washington like to dream up ways to control the Internet, that we don’t need to ‘control’ free speech, we need to control ourselves.” ― Peggy Noonan
24. “Truthfully, wicked people reveal themselves in words first, to inhibit speech would inhibit us seeing the wicked before they act.” ― Leviak B. Kelly
25. “When society gives censors wide and vague powers they never confine themselves to deserving targets. They are not snipers, but machine-gunners. Allow them to fire at will, and they will hit anything that moves.” ― Nick Cohen
26. “It is necessary for the welfare of society that genius should be privileged to utter sedition, to blaspheme, to outrage good taste, to corrupt the youthful mind, and generally to scandalize one’s uncles.” ― George Bernard Shaw
27. “Knowing the line of control is imperative, to have no limits is called bestiality.” ― Abhijit Naskar
28. “Being offended is an emotional state, not a substantive argument; we cannot afford to give it the power to stifle debate.” ― Greg Lukianoff
29. “It struck me that there is a reason James Madison put freedom of speech and freedom of the press in the very first amendment. If we can’t speak out, if we cannot challenge those in power, there is no guaranteeing the rights that follow.” ― Jonathan Karl
Best Freedom of Speech Quotes
30. “Freedom of speech is essential to freedom of thought; it is essential to democratic self-governance; and the alternative– government censorship and control of ideas– has always led to disaster.” ― Erwin Chemerinsky
31. “Anything worth fighting for requires us to be willing to suffer to protect it.” ― C.A.A. Savastano
32. “The majority does not need a special amendment. The only reason you have a First Amendment is to protect the rights of the minorities, of people who aren’t the majority. People who aren’t in power.” ― Dennis Prager
33. “Who kills a man kills a reasonable creature, God’s image, but he who destroys a good book kills reason itself, kills the image of God, as it were in the eye.” ― John Milton
34. “In a conflict of opinion between Einstein and a fool, one wishes for Einstein to prevail. And in a conflict between Einstein and thousand fools or a million, one wishes all the more for Einstein to prevail.” ― Jonathan Rauch
35. “Defend the rights of someone you disagree with today so that your rights can be defended tomorrow.” ― Jeanette Coron
36. “Discourse and critical thinking are essential tools when it comes to securing progress in a democratic society. But in the end, unity and engaged participation are what make it happen.” ― Aberjhani
37. “The mere fact that I exist means that I deserve to be here and to express myself any damn why I please.” ― Euphoria Godsent
38. “A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad.” ― Albert Camus
Free Speech Quotes by Authors
39. “To be happy means to be free and to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly the perils of war.” ― Pericles
40. “Free speech is one of the most important things to me, but I think it gets confusing when it comes to offense. Because for one, just because you have the right to say anything, it doesn’t mean you have to.” ― Ricky Gervais
41. “If we think to regulate printing, thereby to rectify manners, we must regulate all recreations and pastimes, all that is delightful to man.” ― John Milton
42. “Our country is the only one that truly permits you to speak badly of your country, so you really shouldn’t say anything bad about it.” ― James Rozoff
43. “Disagreement is necessary for deliberations among mortals. As the saying goes, the more we disagree, the more chance there is that at least one of us is right.” ― Steven Pinker
44. “Free speech is unthinkable. All other kinds of freedom are permitted. You are free to be a drunkard, an idler, a coward, a backbiter, a fornicator; but you are not free to think for yourself.” ― George Orwell
45. “Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves. Fight for the rights of others. Because one day you may need someone to speak up for you.” ― Jeanette Coron
46. “Words can cause real harm and interfere with a person’s education. Campuses have a duty to act– sometimes legally, always morally– to protect their students from injury.” ― Erwin Chemerinsky
47. “If you want to have everybody agreeing with you, join a club or program or church that agrees with you.” ― Dennis Prager
48. “Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.” ― James C. Humes
49. “Free speech is the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is life itself.” ― Salman Rushdie
50. “If you want to know who rules over you, look at who you are not allowed to criticize.” ― George Orwell
51. “Those who cannot bear any offensive speech do not believe in free speech.” ― Carmine Savastano
Inspirational Free Speech Quotes
52. “There is no such thing as free speech for some. You either have free speech for everyone or you don’t have free speech at all.” ― Thor Benson
53. “The world is full of hurtful and offensive things, and notable among the worst is unfair censorship.” ― Carmine Savastano
54. “Free speech and debate are essential in our search for the truth.” ― Frank Sonnenberg
55. “People demand freedom of speech as compensation for the freedom of thought that they seldom use.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
56. “Both free speech rights and property rights belong legally to individuals, but their real function is social, to benefit vast numbers of people who do not themselves exercise these rights.” ― Thomas Sowell
57. “Whatever we poor men may not have, we have free speech, and no one can take it from us.” ― Howard Zinn
58. “Solutions are not found by pointing fingers they are reached by extending hands.” ― Aysha Taryam
59. “Our ability to have a respectful disagreement with our opponents has been torn to shreds by market forces in a deliberate act of irresponsibility.” ― Billy Bragg
60. “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.” ― Janet Malcolm
61. “Having the freedom of speech doesn’t mean saying whatever you want, it means saying what’s humane, hateless and non-prejudicial.” ― Abhijit Naskar
62. “Free speech means the right to shout ‘theatre’ in a crowded fire.” ― Abbie Hoffman
I hope you liked the above Free Speech Quotes. Don’t forget to mention the best line that you liked most from the above lines in the comment box below.
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