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.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Free speech should not be suppressed like harmful goods because public opinion changes.
- In plain terms
- Public opinion on speech changes over time so censorship is unwise.
- What can you take from it?
- Free speech should not be suppressed.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do we judge bad speech?
- Does opinion justify censorship?
Another view
Harmful speech can still cause real damage regardless of public opinion.
More from William O. Douglas
The critical point is that the Constitution places the right of silence beyond the reach of government.
Permalink to quote #12 The right to dissent is the only thing that makes life tolerable for a judge of an appellate court... the affairs of government could not be conducted by democ…
Permalink to quote #14 The Fifth Amendment is an old friend and a good friend. one of the great landmarks in men's struggle to be free of tyranny, to be decent and civilized.
Permalink to quote #11
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