One of the questions that has most bothered me in my reflections on culture is the question of kitsch. Just what is it? When did it begin? And why?
Roger ScrutonRead
To people like me, educated in post-war Britain, free speech has been a firm premise of the British way of life.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Free speech is fundamental to the British way of life, particularly for those educated in post-war Britain.
In this quote, Roger Scruton emphasizes the value of free speech as a cornerstone of British identity, especially for individuals who have experienced the societal changes following World War II. He suggests that the ability to speak freely is not only a personal right but also a vital aspect of the democratic fabric that shapes the nation and its values.
Themes
Free SpeechBritainDemocracyIdentityPost-War
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about civil liberties, one might say, 'As Roger Scruton highlighted, free speech is integral to our identity as Britons.'
More from Roger Scruton
All quotes βThere are big questions science doesn't answer, such as why is there something rather than nothing? There can't be a scientific answer to that because it's the answer that precedes science.
Roger ScrutonRead
18th century opera is packed with emotion, but contains not a trace of kitsch. Only with the 'thees' and 'thous' of Victorian poetry does the disease begin to grow in our poetic tradition.
Roger ScrutonRead
The robust English view used to be that the correct response to offensive words is to ignore them, or to answer them with a rebuke. If you invoke the law at all, it should be to protect the one who gives the offence, and not the one who takes it. Now, it seems, it is all the other way round.
Roger ScrutonRead
For two centuries the English countryside has been an icon of national identity and the loved reminder of our island home. Yet the government is bent on littering the hills with wind turbines and the valleys with high speed railways.
Roger ScrutonRead
You cannot own a symphony or a novel in the way you can own a Damien Hirst. As a result there are far fewer fake symphonies or fake novels than there are fake works of visual art.
Roger ScrutonRead
Similar quotes
Where to begin? Do we measure the relaxing of the feet? The moment when the eye glimpses the hawk, when instinct functions? For in this pure action, this pure moving of the bird, there is no time, no space, but only the free doing-being of this very moment -now!
Peter MatthiessenRead
The greatest proof of Christianity for others is not how far a man can logically analyze his reasons for believing, but how far in practice he will stake his life on his belief.
T. S. EliotRead
The genius of a composer is found in the notes of his music; but analyzing the notes will not reveal his genius. The poet's greatness is contained in his words; yet the study of his words will not disclose his inspiration. God reveals himself in creation; but scrutinize creation as minutely as you wish, you will not find God, any more than you will find the soul through careful examination of your body.
Anthony De MelloRead
A distant enemy is always preferable to one at the gate.
Emile M. CioranRead
It is the awareness of unfulfilled desires which gives a nation the feeling that it has a mission and a destiny.
Eric HofferRead
I theorize that there is a spectrum of consciousness available to human beings. At one end is material consciousness. At the other end is what we call 'field' consciousness, where a person is at one with the universe, perceiving the universe. Just by looking at our planet on the way back, I saw or felt a field consciousness state.
Edgar MitchellRead