Government should be concerned with anti-social conduct, not with utterances.
More Quotes from William Douglas:
The dissent we witness is a reaffirmation of faith in man it is protest against living under rules and prejudices and attitudes that produce the extremes of wealth and poverty and that make us dedicated to the destruction of people through arms, bombs, and gases, and that prepare us to think alike and be submissive objects for the regime of the computer.William Douglas
The First Amendment commands government to have no interest in theology or ritual it admonishes the government to be interested in allowing religious freedom to flourish -- whether the result is to produce Catholics, Jews, or Protestants, or to turn the people toward the path of Buddha, or to end in a predominantly Moslem nation, or to produce in the long run atheists or agnostics. On matters of this kind, government must remain neutral. This freedom plainly includes freedom from religion with the right to believe, speak, write, publish and advocate antireligious programs.
William Douglas
The function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purpose when in it invites a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger.
William Douglas
Acceptance by government of a dissident press is a measure of the maturity of a nation.
William Douglas
After an American has been in a totalitarian country for several months, he is greatly relieved when he reaches home. He feels that bonds have been released and that he is free. He can speak above a whisper, and he walks relaxed and unguarded as though he were no longer being followed. After a recent trip I said to a neighbor, It's wonderful to be back in a nation where even a riot may be tolerated.
William Douglas
The dissenting opinion has continued since 1792 as a great American tradition. It is as true to the character of our democracy as of speech itself.
William Douglas
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Based on Topics: Government QuotesBased on Keywords: anti-social, utterances
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