Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comment on this quote Share via Email Print this Page [181-200] of 245 Censorship quotesCensorship QuotesCensorship Previous 20 quotes Next 20 quotes A censor is a man who knows more than he thinks you ought to.~ Laurence J. Peter Henceforth it will be the task of this Sacred Congregation not only to examine carefully the books denounced to it, to prohibit them if necessary, and to grant permission for reading forbidden books, but also to supervise, ex officio, books that are being published, and to pass sentence on such as deserve to be prohibited.~ Pope Pius X Now that eighteen-year-olds have the right to vote, it is obvious that they must be allowed the freedom to form their political views on the basis of uncensored speech before they turn eighteen, so that their minds are not a blank when they first exercise the franchise. And since an eighteen-year-old’s right to vote is a right personal to him rather than a right to be exercised on his behalf by his parents, the right of parents to enlist the aid of the state to shield their children from ideas of which the parents disapprove cannot be plenary either. People are unlikely to become well-functioning, independent-minded adults and responsible citizens if they are raised in an intellectual bubble.~ Richard Posner Make no mistake about it: the labeling of someone’s language as ‘sexist’ involves a political judgment and implies the desirability of a particular sociological doctrine. One may be in favor of that doctrine (as I believe I am) but it is quite another matter to force writers by edicts and censorship into accepting it.~ Neil Postman The weapon of the dictator is not so much propaganda as censorship.~ Terence H. Qualter I am now quite sure that 'Tragedy and Hope' was suppressed although I do not know why or by whom.~ Carroll Quigley Former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart noted (in his dissent of Abington Township, 1963) ‘if religious exercises are held to be impermissible activity in schools, religion is placed at an artificial and state-created disadvantage. Permission for such exercises for those who want them is necessary if the schools are truly to be neutral in the matter of religion. And a refusal to permit them is seen not as the realization of state neutrality, but rather as the establishment of a religion of secularism.'~ Ronald Reagan Aside from the collective gain that comes from that free interchange of ideas, there is a direct personal value for the individual concerned. Each of us should have the right to speak his thoughts and to hear the thoughts of others…~ Charles Rembar We do not move forward by curtailing people’s liberty because we are afraid of what they may do or say.~ Eleanor Roosevelt We all know that books will burn -- yet we have the greater knowledge that books cannot be killed by fire. People die, but books never die. No man and no force can abolish memory...~ Franklin D. Roosevelt If the fires of freedom and civil liberties burn low in other lands, they must be made brighter in our own. If in other lands the press and books and literature of all kinds are censored, we must redouble our efforts here to keep them free. If in other lands the eternal truths of the past are threatened by intolerance, we must provide a safe place for their perception.~ Franklin D. Roosevelt The worst, most insidious effect of censorship is that, in the end, it can deaden the imagination of the people. Where there is no debate, it is hard to go on remembering, every day, that there is a suppressed side to every argument.~ Salman Rushdie It is clear that thought is not free if the profession of certain opinions make it impossible to earn a living.~ Bertrand Russell Heretical views arise when the truth is uncertain, and it is only when the truth is uncertain that censorship is invoked.~ Bertrand Russell I pray that no child of mine would ever descend into such a place as a library. They are indeed most dangerous places and unfortunate is she or he who is lured into such a hellhole of enjoyment, stimulus, facts, passion and fun.~ Willy Russell If newsmen do not tell the truth as they see it because it might make waves, or if their bosses decide something should or should not be broadcast because of Washington or Main Street consequences, we have dishonored ourselves and we have lost the First Amendment by default.~ Richard Salant 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 censorships.~ George Bernard Shaw Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody reads.~ George Bernard Shaw Assassination is the extreme form of censorship.~ George Bernard Shaw The reduction of political discourse to sound bites is one of the worst things that’s happened in American political life.~ John Silber Previous 20 quotes Next 20 quotes Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print