"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. Were an opinion a personal possession of no value except to the owner; if to be obstructed in the enjoyment of it were simply a private injury, it would make some difference whether the injury was inflicted only on a few persons or on many. But 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." -- John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859
"Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us." - Justice William O. Douglas, U.S. Supreme Court
"My definition of a free society is a society where it is safe to be unpopular." - Adlai Stevenson, American statesman, October 7, 1952
"I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - attributed to Voltaire, from S.G. Tallentyre (Evelyn Beatrice Hall), The Friends of Voltaire, 1907
"One of the few remaining freedoms we have is the blank page. No one can prescribe how we should fill it." - James Kelman, Scottish writer, The Guardian, October 12, 1994
"One man's vulgarity is another's lyric." - Justice John M. Harlan, Cohen v. California (1971)
What it does mean, however, is that you can print and publish your own newspaper, or your own web site, and say anything on there that you like, all without government interference. But it's ego to presume that you have the right to use someone else's media freely to speak your mind. Free speech does not mean you have the right to violate other people's property against the established rules.
When the rain came, the dry, cracked lips of the dying met water, and, between coughs, managed a smile.
When the rain came, old man Gonzalez came out of his shed for the first time in weeks. Kneeling next to a puddle, he spashed the water onto his face, wiping off the bootprints.
When the rain came, a small weed was spotted forcing itself upward through the concrete and metal.
When the rain came, the cameras were shorted out, the lights blinked off, and the microphones went dead.
When the rain came, there were reports of people walking through the streets unescorted. In one alley, there was an echo that could only be the laugh of a child.
When the rain came, a young man looked upward, and for the first time, saw clouds, sunlight, and water which fell from the sky. Now it would not matter if they fixed the roof of the dome; he now slept with the knowledge of existence beyond his experience.
Your voice matters.
By the way, I thought I should point out that Voltaire never said or wrote the words which you (and about a billion others) attribute to him. Do a little research and I believe you'll discover that the phrase was used about his attitudes by biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall in 1906. I'll look up the exact source when I have more time.
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