The critical point is that the Constitution places the right of silence beyond the reach of government.
William O. DouglasRead
Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience that hissed yesterday may applaud today, even for the same performance.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Free speech should not be controlled or silenced as if it were a harmful product; public opinion can change rapidly.
This quote emphasizes the importance of protecting free speech from excessive regulation. William O. Douglas argues that public reaction to ideas and performances can be fickle, suggesting that ideas should be freely expressed and subject to change in perception over time, rather than being stifled by restrictions or fear of dissent.
Themes
Free SpeechRegulationPublic OpinionPerceptionExpression
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on censorship, one might use this quote to argue against restricting media.
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
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.
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
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