"Freedom of Speech is Not a Crime" is what I saw painted on a wall this morning. I circled the block, parked in a bus zone and hurriedly snapped a photo. With my mental set thus primed, I saw examples of the exercise of free speech all around. I saw it in the manner in which people were dressed, I heard it in the music and the words that they chose, and I even read it on the bathroom wall. I do not necessarily agree with all of the sentiments as expressed, but I will strongly defend the right of individuals to express themselves.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
First Amendment of the Constitution
(The signature on the last image is difficult to see. It is a quote by Donald Rumsfeld. All photos by D Grieser)
"The press is not only free, it is powerful. That power is ours. It is the proudest that man can enjoy."
Disraeli, Benjamin (1804-1881)
"Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground."
Douglass, Frederick (1817-1895)
"Freedom of the press is not an end in itself but a means...to a free society."
Frankfurter, Felix American jurist (1882–1965)
"Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost."
Jefferson, Thomas 3rd President of the United States (1801-1809)
"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."
Jefferson, Thomas 3rd President of the United States (1801-1809)
"Let it be impressed upon your minds, let it be instilled into your children, that the liberty of the press is the palladium of all the civil, political, and religious rights."
Junius
"I fear three newspapers more than a hundred thousand bayonets."
Napoleon I Emperor of France (1769-1821)
"The United States can...be proud that it has institutions and a structure that permit its citizens to express honest dissent, even though those who do so may be maligned by the highest official in the land."
New York Times
"The closed door and the sealed lips are prerequisites to tyranny."
Stanton, Frank L.
"Freedom rings whenever opinions clash."
Stevenson, Adlai E. American statesman (1900–1965)
"The free press is the mother of all our liberties and of our progress under liberty."
Stevenson, Adlai E. American statesman (1900–1965)
"The free press is the mother of all our liberties and of our progress under liberty."
Stevenson, Adlai E. American statesman (1900–1965)
"In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude."
Washington, George 1st President of the United States (1789-1797)
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