The critical point is that the Constitution places the right of silence beyond the reach of government.
William O. DouglasRead
I have the same confidence in the ability of our people to reject noxious literature as I have in their capacity to sort out the true from the false in theology, economics, or any other field.
Interpretation
What this quote means
People have the ability to discern between harmful information and the truth in various disciplines.
William O. Douglas expresses his confidence in people's innate ability to critically evaluate and reject harmful or misleading information, whether it pertains to literature, theology, economics, or any other area of knowledge. He believes that just as individuals can identify falsehoods in complex subjects, they are equally equipped to dismiss noxious literature that may mislead them.
Themes
ConfidenceTruthLiteratureDiscernmentInformation
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about media literacy, one might reference this quote to emphasize the importance of critical thinking.
More from William O. Douglas
All quotes →One who comes to the Court must come to adore, not to protest. That's the new gloss on the First Amendment.
William O. DouglasRead
The great and invigorating influences in American life have been the unorthodox: the people who challenge an existing institution or way of life, or say and do things that make people think.
William O. DouglasRead
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.
William O. DouglasRead
The truth is that a vast restructuring of our society is needed if remedies are to become available to the average person. Without that restructuring the good will that holds society together will be slowly dissipated... It is that sense of futility which permeates the present series of protests and dissents. Where there is a persistent sense of futility, there is violence; and that is where we are today.
William O. DouglasRead
The day should come when all of the forms of life... will stand before the court - the pileated woodpecker as well as the coyote and bear, the lemmings as well as the trout in the streams.
William O. DouglasRead
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He that reads and grows no wiser seldom suspects his own deficiency, but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood.
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