Gerard Baker Quotes

And I think both the left and the right should celebrate people who have different opinions, and disagree with them, and argue with them, and differ with them, but don't just try to shut them up.

Now, I think that in acknowledging that every individual Member of Parliament and indeed every individual member of the Labour Party, has rights to express their view in a spirit of tolerance.

Foreign leaders should not be outraged by talk in a democracy.

Contention is inseparable from creating knowledge. It is not contention we should try to avoid, but discourses that attempt to suppress contention.

I think Thomas Jefferson would have said the more speech, the better.

I think we have very steady records of President Putin, who inherited the country with democratic values.

A mature society understands that at the heart of democracy is argument.

You'll often hear the left lecture about the importance of dissent in a free society.

Shame! Shame on this House! A civilized society does not stifle opposition. It meets it.

American politics has always had its vulgar side. Democracy has always had its vulgar side. Vulgarity is a transactional cost of democracy.

Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive. ... And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment — the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution.

In a democracy, allegations will never improve situations. So, I'm against allegations, but I always welcome criticism.

I honestly feel that if there is an important point of view, any member of the Congress party, any member of my Cabinet is free to raise issues and require reconsideration of issues. I think that's what a democracy is about.

I very happily stand for the right of every man and woman in Pennsylvania to have their voice heard in elections. And when they do have their voice heard, it's nothing short of a privilege to welcome and respect that voice because this is a democracy, and that's what we do.

My grandfather wanted to remind us that freedom of expression is the fundamental ingredient for democracy, and all the rest is detail. It is the scaffolding around which every other freedom is based.

Democrats need to value free speech and we should not be intimidated into giving an inch of it away.

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.

The politicians should not tell the people to shut up.

Complete liberty of contradicting and disproving our opinion, is the very condition which justifies us in assuming its truth for purposes of action.

All the more reason we need to stand up for our democracy now. If we're going to solve the crises that are barreling down on us, we need democracy, and our democracy needs to start with an open and inclusive debate. That doesn't mean 20 candidates. There are four candidates who are on the ballot for just about every voter in America.

The hallmark of an authoritarian idiot is yelling TERRORIST-LOVER! at anyone questioning the definition of Terrorist.

Being democratic is not enough, a majority cannot turn what is wrong into right. In order to be considered truly free, countries must also have a deep love of liberty and an abiding respect for the rule of law.

In the most civilized and progressive countries freedom of discussion is recognized as a fundamental principle.

The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.

When I write a political column for the Chicago Sun-Times, when liberals disagree with me, they send in long, logical e-mails explaining all my errors. I hardly ever get well-reasoned articles from the right. People just tell me to shut up. That's the message: "Shut up. Don't write anymore about this. Who do you think you are?"