Inspirational freedom of speech quotes will brighten up your day and make you feel ready to take on anything.
Famous Freedom of Speech Quotes
If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. – George Washington
I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. – Voltaire
People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid. – Soren Kierkegaard
If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed. – Benjamin Franklin
But none of the means of information are more sacred, or have been cherished with more tenderness and care by the settlers of America, than the press. – John Adams
A people which is able to say everything becomes able to do everything. – Napoleon I
Take away freedom of speech, and the creative faculties dry up. – George Orwell
It is easy to believe in freedom of speech for those with whom we agree. – Leo Mckern
The liberty of the press is essential to the security of the state. – John Adams
If men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter, which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter. – George Washington
Freedom of speech includes the freedom to offend people. – Brad Thor
Freedom of speech is useless without freedom of thought. – Spiro Agnew
Freedom of speech is a guiding rule, one of the foundations of democracy, but at the same time, freedom does not imply anarchy, and the right to exercise free expression does not include the right to do unjustified harm to others. – Raphael Cohen-Almagor
Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost. – Thomas Jefferson
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. – U.S. Constitution
We should not have either a blunt knife or a freedom of speech which is ill-managed. – Epictetus
Freedom of speech gives you the right to stay silent. – Neil Gaiman
At no time is freedom of speech more precious than when a man hits his thumb with a hammer. – Marshall Lumsden
We who officially value freedom of speech above life itself seem to have nothing to talk about but the weather. – Barbara Ehrenreich
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. – Thomas Jefferson
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. – Benjamin Franklin
To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker. – Frederick Douglass
Freedom of speech doesn’t protect speech you like; it protects speech you don’t like. – Larry Flynt
Most people do not really want others to have freedom of speech, they just want others to be given the freedom to say want they want to hear. – David Joseph Cribbin
Don’t exercise your freedom of speech until you have exercised your freedom of thought. – Tim Fargo
Freedom of speech means setting words free. Imprisoned and freed words are consequential. All words have consequences. – John R Dallas Jr
It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears. – Louis D. Brandeis
We are so concerned to flatter the majority that we lose sight of how very often it is necessary, in order to preserve freedom for the minority, let alone for the individual, to face that majority down. – William F. Buckley Jr.
Of that freedom [of thought and speech] one may say that it is the matrix, the indispensible condition, of nearly every other form of freedom. – Benjamin N. Cardozo
Free speech carries with it some freedom to listen. – Warren Earl Burger
Free speech not only lives, it rocks! – Oprah Winfrey
Freedom of speech means that you shall not do something to people either for the views they have, or the views they express, or the words they speak or write. – Hugo L. Black
Free speech is life itself. – Salman Rushdie
Without free speech no search for truth is possible… no discovery of truth is useful… Better a thousandfold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech. The abuse dies in a day, but the denial slays the life of the people, and entombs the hope of the race. – Charles Bradlaugh
Freedom is not a luxury that we can indulge in when at last we have security and prosperity and enlightenment; it is, rather, antecedent to all of these, for without it we can have neither security nor prosperity nor enlightenment. – Henry Steele Commager
We cannot have a society half slave and half free; nor can we have thought half slave and half free. If we create an atmosphere in which men fear to think independently, inquire fearlessly, express themselves freely, we will in the end create the kind of society in which men no longer care to think independently or to inquire fearlessly. – Henry Steele Commager
I believe in freedom of speech, but I believe we should also have the right to comment on freedom of speech. – Stockwell Day
Freedom of speech is not simply a freedom to think and say what you wish, but to speak for yourself, to speak from the heart, and to be accountable for your words. – Ian Mccallum
Where there is a great deal of free speech there is always a certain amount of foolish speech. – Sir Winston Churchill
Freedom of speech doesn’t mean freedom from judgement. – Jackson Pearce
Without freedom of speech there is no modern world, just a barbaric one. – Ai Weiwei
If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear. – George Orwell
The freedom of speech and the freedom of the press have not been granted to the people in order that they may say the things which please, and which are based upon accepted thought, but the right to say the things which displease, the right to say the things which may convey the new and yet unexpected thoughts, the right to say things, even though they do a wrong. – Samuel Gompers
If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other it is the principle of free thought – not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate. – Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
I’m for the freedom of expression, given that it will be under strict control. – Alan Bennett
Without freedom of speech, I might be in the swamp. – Bob Dylan
Freedom Of Speech Can Be Just As Deadly As The Right To Bear Arms. – Ayjee Grogan
The right to free speech and the unrealistic expectation to never be offended can not coexist. – Philip Sharp
Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience…that hissed yesterday may applaud today even for the same performance. – William O. Douglas
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. – Winston Churchill
We are reluctant to admit that we owe our liberties to men of a type that today we hate and fear – unruly men, disturbers of the peace … in a word, free men. … Freedom is always purchased at a great price, and even those who are willing to pay it have to admit that the price is great. – Gerald W. Johnson
Freedom of conscience, of education, or speech, of assembly are among the very fundamentals of democracy and all of them would be nullified should freedom of the press ever be successfully challenged. – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Better a thousandfold abuse of free speech than denial of free speech. – Charles Bradlaugh
Freedom of speech means freedom for those who you despise, and freedom to express the most despicable views. It also means that the government cannot pick and choose which expressions to authorize and which to prevent. – Alan Dershowitz
WE SHOULD SILENCE ANYONE WHO OPPOSES THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF SPEECH. – Boyle Roche
You tell me that law is above freedom of utterance. And I reply that you can have no wise laws nor free entertainment of wise laws unless there is free expression of the wisdom of the people – and, alas, their folly with it. But if there is freedom, folly will die of its own poison, and the wisdom will survive. – William Allen White
We have to uphold a free press and freedom of speech — because, in the end, lies and misinformation are no match for the truth. – Barack Obama
We don’t need to control’ free speech, we need to control ourselves – Peggy Noonan
Ignorant free speech often works against the speaker. That is one of several reasons why it must be given rein instead of suppressed. – Anna Quindlen
We must bring ourselves to realize that it is necessary to support free speech for the things we hate in order to ensure it for the things in which we believe with all our heart. – Heywood Broun
Freedom of speech is the great bulwark of liberty; they prosper and die together: And it is the terror of traitors and oppressors, and a barrier against them. It produces excellent writers, and encourages men of fine genius. – Benjamin Franklin
There is a fine line between free speech and hate speech. Free speech encourages debate whereas hate speech incites violence. – Newton Lee
Free speech is the cornerstone to every right we have. – Mark Thomas
Free speech includes the right to not speak. – Jimmy Wales
Free speech gives us the ability to react vigorously with effective arguments and expose the weakness and misdirection of the other side’s claims. – Rush Limbaugh
It is clear that not in one thing alone, but in many ways equality and freedom of speech are a good thing. – Herodotus
Being offended by freedom of speech should never be regarded as a justification for violence. – Alan Dershowitz
We have freedom of speech, but you got to watch what you say. – Tracy Morgan
