Robert Kennedy Quotes

A state of society where men may not speak their minds cannot long endure.

Be alert that dictators have always played on the natural human tendency to blame others and to oversimplify. And don't regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve the rights of people you disagree with to free, public, unhampered Expression

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.

Will dissent be permitted? The answer to that question will determine whether the society is a free society or a fear society.

Once you permit those who are convinced of their own superior rightness to censor and silence and suppress those who hold contrary opinions, just at that moment the citadel has been surrendered.

Fascist movements kill off their critics, literally or metaphorically, while democratic movements value, invite and even welcome criticism.

I would not wish to live in a world where I could not express my honest opinions. Men who deny to others the right of speech are not fit to live with honest men.

Thought that is silenced is always rebellious. Majorities, of course, are often mistaken. This is why the silencing of minorities is necessarily dangerous. Criticism and dissent are the indispensable antidote to major delusions.

To view the opposition as dangerous is to misunderstand the basic concepts of democracy. To oppress the opposition is to assault the very foundation of democracy.

For all the injustices in our past and our present, we have to believe that in the free exchange of ideas, justice will prevail over injustice, tolerance over intolerance and progress over reaction.

These individuals are tyrants, and so they hate democracy. They are bigots, zealots, and persecutors, and so they hate Americas freedom tolerance, and respect for all people. The terrorists of Sept. 11 live and flourish in darkness. They cannot survive in the liberating and inspirational sunlight of American freedom and democracy.

The challenge is to lend conviction even to the voices which advocate views I find personally abhorrent, whether they are political Islamists or officers justifying a coup.

The deadliest foe of democracy is not autocracy but liberty frenzied.

Free societies are societies in which the right of dissent is protected.

But there is a big difference in working for the West and working for a totalitarian state.

Liberals are not always so liberal with people who disapprove - disapprove of their point of view.

We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.

The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism.

I always think the true test of free speech is when someone says something you don't like.

It is easy to believe in freedom of speech for those with whom we agree.

Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom of speech.

Having lived through the transition from totalitarianism, I am acutely mindful of the need to never take for granted the basic freedoms of thought, expression and belief that democracy brings.

What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should forbid it. When you go down that road, don't expect freedom to survive very long.

A simple way to determine whether the right to dissent in a particular society is being upheld is to apply the town square test: Can a person walk into the middle of the town square and express his or her views without fear of arrest, imprisonment, or physical harm? If he can, then that person is living in a free society. If not, it's a fear society.

Dictatorships are one-way streets. Democracy boasts two-way traffic.