Ruth Wisse Quotes

Liberty resides in the rights of those people whose views we find most odious.

The liberty I contend for is more than toleration. The very idea of toleration is despicable; it supposes that some have a pre-eminence above the rest to grant indulgence; whereas all should be equally free, Jews, Turks, Pagans and Christians. Test Oaths and established creeds should be avoided as the worst of evils.

True civility and Christianity may both flourish in a state or kingdom, notwithstanding. the permission of divers and contrary consciences, either of Jew or Gentile.

The high aptitude of the Jews and their outstanding role in the progress of mankind considering men like Jesus, Spinoza, Marx has to be kindly acknowledged without hesitation... All this Anti-Semitism is a flop which will vanish slowly in the light of scientific knowledge and a humane democracy.

If your religion doesn't respect the rights of other religions, it is lacking something.

We are a trading corporation, not a body of sectarian propagandists, and therefore discourage any intolerance.

It is my will that in my empire the liberty of various creeds, after their several customs, be respected. And I declare at the same time, that I esteem alike all my subjects, to whatever religion they belong.

When national leaders address the people of Fiji in specifically Christian terms, whatever the occasion, nearly half of our people are excluded. When prayer in mixed company is uttered in terms of a purely Christian God, we unintentionally omit and diminish others present of different faiths.

In the experiences of a year of the Presidency, there has come to me no other such unwelcome impression as the manifest religious intolerance which exists among many of our citizens. I hold it to be a menace to the very liberties we boast and cherish.

The growing tide of anti-Semitism shocks the conscious of everyone who values freedom, and the ugly, hateful acts particularly stain the character of democracies where liberty and religious freedom are supposed to be respected.

Tolerance is carved into the rostrum of the U.S. House of Representatives and intolerance should not be carved into the U.S. Constitution.

I don't do politics, I don't do religion, I don't do ethnic jokes.

I've found that people feel very free to say insulting things, not about me personally, but about the things I believe. It's sad, because I really could care less where people are coming from, politically, religiously.

If every inhabitant of a liberal democracy believes in liberal democracy, then it doesn't matter what creed or colour they are.

There is simply no room for anti-Semitism in a democratic and law-abiding state.

It doesn't matter what color, sex, religion, age, sexual orientation, etc., everyone should have the same freedoms and liberties.

There should be no discrimination against languages people speak, skin color, or religion.

The true victory is the victory for democracy and pluralism.

Democracy means that people can say what they want to. All the people. It means that they can vote as they wish. All the people. It means that they can worship God in any way they feel right, and that includes Christians and Jews and voodoo doctors as well.

More and more people care about religious tolerance as fewer and fewer care about religion.

We must not enable anyone to impose his personal view regarding religion on others by force, oppression, or pressure.

Life in cyberspace seems to be shaping up exactly like Thomas Jefferson would have wanted: founded on the primacy of individual liberty and a commitment to pluralism, diversity, and community.

I like the religion that teaches liberty, equality and fraternity.

Take a stand against intolerance and for our American values. Say it with pride: I support democracy in America. I support working people in America. I support opportunity in America. And I support Barack Obama for another four years as president of the United States of America!

My books are anti-absolutist and deeply distrustful of any religious stance that precludes the validity of any other.