The only way to eliminate any government choice on what art is worthwhile, what art isn't worthwhile, is to get the government totally out of the business of funding.
Antonin ScaliaRead
Burning the flag is a form of expression. Speech doesn't just mean written words or oral words. It could be semaphore. And burning a flag is a symbol that expresses an idea - I hate the government, the government is unjust, whatever.
Interpretation
Burning the flag is a symbolic form of expression that conveys dissent against the government.
In this quote, Antonin Scalia articulates the idea that freedom of speech encompasses all forms of expression, not limited to spoken or written words. He highlights that acts like burning a flag serve as potent symbols for signaling discontent with authority or government policies, reinforcing the notion that differing opinions deserve to be expressed, even if they provoke controversy.
In practice
During a discussion on civil rights, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of all forms of expression.
The only way to eliminate any government choice on what art is worthwhile, what art isn't worthwhile, is to get the government totally out of the business of funding.
If I have brought any message today, it is this: Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ. And have the courage to suffer the contempt of the sophisticated world.
To allow the policy question of same-sex marriage to be considered and resolved by a select, patrician, highly unrepresentative panel of nine is to violate a principle even more fundamental than no taxation without representation: no social transformation without representation.
Until the courts put a stop to it, public debate over same-sex marriage displayed American democracy at its best. Individuals on both sides of the issue passionately, but respectfully, attempted to persuade their fellow citizens to accept their views.
Being a good person begins with being a wise person. Then, when you follow your conscience, will you be headed in the right direction.
If you're going to be a good and faithful judge, you have to resign yourself to the fact that you're not always going to like the conclusions you reach. If you like them all the time, you're probably doing something wrong.
If our goal is to understand the world, to seek a deeper understanding of the world, our general lack of moral diversity here is going to make it harder. Because when people all share values, when people all share morals, they become a team.
Every single person in this world is a minority in one way or another. It just depends on how you slice the pie.
The supreme end is the freedom of the spirit.
Here is the world, sound as a nut, perfect, not the smallest piece of chaos left, never a stitch nor an end, not a mark of haste, or botching, or second thought; but the theory of the world is a thing of shreds and patches.
To ask whether the mainstream media has a conservative or liberal bias is like asking whether al-Qaida uses too much oil in their hummus. It's - I think they might use too much oil in their hummus - but it's the wrong question.
We have contingency plans for war, but none for peace.
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