Justice Charles Evans Hughes, (1862-1948) Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comment on this quote Share via Email Print this Page Justice Charles Evans Hughes Quote “Our institutions were not devised to bring about uniformity of opinion; if they had we might well abandon hope. It is important to remember, as has well been said, 'the essential characteristic of true liberty is that under its shelter many different types of life and character and opinion and belief can develop unmolested and unobstructed.'”Justice Charles Evans Hughes ~ Justice Charles Evans Hughes (1862-1948) Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme CourtU. S. Supreme Court, Forbes Magazine, 1 November 1957 Conformity , Constitution , Equality , Justice , Liberty , Respect , Restraint , Tolerance , Character Ratings and Comments Reply Robert, Sarasota 10/9/06 Unfortunately Liberty is molested continually by fundamentalists. 1 Reply Mike, Norwalk 10/9/06 The key word here is 'institutions'. The Constitutional government, as a fundamental inorganic extension of self, can only do that which the individual can do. It is precisely the 'institutions that were devised to molest and obstruct liberty, opinion, and character. It is the institutions that support, promote and expand compelled compliance, victimless crimes, license, etc. etc. etc. that uniformly robs true freedom. 1 Reply Joe, Rochester, MI 10/9/06 Our institutions are all about bringing uniformity. Then in true liberal-social fashion, he changes the subject to liberty. Reply Anonymous, Reston, VA US 10/9/06 Reply E Archer, NYC 10/9/06 It's accurate although I agree that institutions do indeed foster uniformity at the expense of liberty. Reply David L Rosenthal 10/9/06 Our free society should tolerate a wide variety of opinion, but it should draw the line where the opinion being advanced intends to promote or achieve the destruction of the general liberty. Democratic republics cannot afford to tolerate communist ideology, since the stated goals of communism include the destruction of freedoms common to non-communist societies. SaveOk2 SaveOk2 View CommentsClick to view or comment. Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print This Justice Charles Evans Hughes quote is found in these categories: Conformity quotes Constitution quotes Equality quotes Justice quotes Liberty quotes Respect quotes Restraint quotes Tolerance quotes Character quotes About Justice Charles Evans Hughes Bio of Justice Charles Evans Hughes Quotations by Justice Charles Evans Hughes Books by/about Justice Charles Evans Hughes Justice Charles Evans Hughes videos Justice Charles Evans Hughes on Wikipedia Astrological chart for Justice Charles Evans Hughes