QuoteProject
The United States is a land of free speech. Nowhere is speech freer - not even here where we sedulously cultivate it even in its most repulsive form.
Winston Churchill
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes the value of free speech, even when it encompasses distasteful opinions.

Winston Churchill's quote reflects the fundamental principle of freedom of expression in the United States, highlighting that this nation guarantees the right to speak freely, irrespective of the content of that speech. The reference to cultivating free speech in its most 'repulsive form' underscores the importance of protecting all speech, not just that which is agreeable or popular, as a cornerstone of democracy and individual liberties.

Themes

Free SpeechFreedomExpressionDemocracyRights

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate about censorship, one might quote Churchill to highlight the importance of allowing all forms of speech, even those that are controversial.

More from Winston Churchill

It is a socialist idea that making profits is a vice; I consider the real vice is making losses.
Winston ChurchillRead
The United States is like a gigantic boiler. Once the fire is lit under it, there's no limit to the power it can generate.
Winston ChurchillRead
Politics is almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times.
Winston ChurchillRead
I will not pretend that if I had to choose between communism and Nazism I would choose communism.
Winston ChurchillRead
Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them.
Winston ChurchillRead
True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.
Winston ChurchillRead

Similar quotes

Reality denied comes back to haunt.
Philip K. DickRead
If we truly think of Christ as our source of holiness, we shall refrain from anything wicked or impure in thought or act and thus show ourselves to be worthy bearers of his name. For the quality of holiness is shown not by what we say but by what we do in life.
Gregory Of NyssaRead
Things we lose have a way of coming back to us in the end, if not always in the way we expect.
J. K. RowlingRead
The mere suggestion that not speaking for a day can give you an appreciation of the social isolation that comes with the experience of disability, particularly those whose impairments prohibit them from communicating verbally, is insensitive at best.
Stella YoungRead
Fiction shows the external effects of internal conditions. Be aware of the tension between internal and external movement.
Raymond CarverRead
I am pleading for the future; I am pleading for a time when hatred and cruelty will not control the hearts of men. When we can learn by, reason and judgment and understanding and faith that all life is worth saving, and that mercy is the highest attribute of man.
Clarence DarrowRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.