Louis D. Brandeis Quotes

There should be constitutional liberty of speech and freedom of thought, which is the elementary right of every citizen under any civilized form of Government

Speech is an essential mechanism of democracy, for it is the means to hold officials accountable to the people. [...] The right of citizens to inquire, to hear, to speak, and to use information to reach consensus is a precondition to enlightened self-government and a necessary means to protect it. [...] By taking the right to speak from some and giving it to others, the Government deprives the disadvantaged person or class of the right to use speech to strive to establish worth, standing, and respect for the speaker’s voice. The Government may not by these means deprive the public of the right and privilege to determine for itself what speech and speakers are worthy of consideration. The First Amendment protects speech and speaker, and the ideas that flow from each.

It's enshrined in our Constitution that an individual has a right to release information and disseminate information that makes the powers that be uncomfortable.

Free speech rights means that government officials are barred from creating lists of approved and disapproved political ideas and then using the power of the state to enforce those preferences.

To me, I was right from the beginning, because it's my right as an American to speak up and question our president, have my point of view, have my opinion, question what I want to question, and say what I want to say about our government.

The right to dissent is one of the great and cherished freedoms that we enjoy by reason of the excellent accident of our American births.

You have the God-given right to kick the government around. Don't hesitate to do so.

The right to control their own government according to constitutional forms is not one of the rights that the citizens of this country are called upon to surrender in time of war.

The people have a right to assemble together, to consult for their common good-to instruct their representatives, and to apply to the legislature for redress of grievances, by address, petition or remonstrance.

Everybody has a right to petition their government and petition it in terms that are relevant to themselves…. Everyone has the right to speak their mind. If your mind is faith-based, then speak that way.

After 200 years, the 1st Amendment remains only as strong, or as weak, as the citizens it is designed to protect.

A man's mere property status, without more, cannot be used by a state to test, qualify or limit his rights as a citizen of the United States.

The power of citizenship as a shield against oppression was widely known from the example of Paul's Roman citizenship, which sent the centurion scurrying to his higher-ups with the message: "Take heed what thou doest; for this man is a Roman.

Women today should have the same rights as men. And all citizens should have the right to speak their minds without fear of imprisonment.

We are exercising our constitutional right to be fresh.

The King has a right to make political remarks. He is a Thai citizen and has his rights and freedoms under the Constitution. Each of you is under the Constitution, and so is the King. I am using my freedom under the Constitution.

It is every American's right to question any big event, especially when it's seized on to take the basic liberties of Americans.

In a democracy, the citizens are supposed to have all the power, and the government is supposed to be the means by which the citizens exercise that power. But when you have a surveillance state, the state has all the power, and citizens have very little.

I think that freedom of speech is just that, and groups have the right to support or oppose issues that are going to affect them as well as individuals do.

Freedom of speech is, to all Americans, as oxygen is to the human condition. It is a right that has been irreversibly programmed into our hard drive. We are free to speak our minds. An artist's right to express him or herself as best suits their art, is the artist's prerogative and it is guaranteed.

Criticism of government finds sanctuary in several portions of the 1st Amendment. It is part of the right of free speech. It embraces freedom of the press.

Our goal is to displace the entrenched powers in Washington, restore the rightful balance between the state and federal government.

In America it's live by the sword of freedom of expression and be will to die by it as well.

I regard freedom of expression as the primary right without which one can not have a proper functioning democracy.

And a democracy can't exist without free speech and the right to assemble. And that's what Americans tend to forget. And they're born into a culture where they take all of their freedoms for granted.