It is well known that in war, the first casualty is truth - that during any war truth is forsaken for propaganda.
Interpretation
In times of war, truth is often sacrificed for the sake of propaganda.
This quote by Harry Browne highlights the tragic reality that during war, the pursuit of truth is often compromised. Instead of honest communication, governments and factions may resort to using propaganda to sway public opinion and justify their actions, leading to a distortion of reality where truth becomes the first victim of conflict.
In practice
During a speech about the impact of war on society.
Asset forfeiture is a mockery of the Bill of Rights. There is no presumption of innocence, no need to prove you guilty (or even charge you with a crime), no right to a jury trial, no right to confront your accuser, no right to a court-appointed attorney (even if the government has just stolen all your money), and no right to compensation for the property that's been taken.
Government seems to operate on the principle that if even one individual is incapable of using his freedom competently, no one can be allowed to be free.
Conservatives say the government can't end poverty by force, but they believe it can use force to make people moral. Liberals say government can't make people be moral, but they believe it can end poverty. Neither group attempts to explain why government is so clumsy and destructive in one area but a paragon of efficiency and benevolence in the other.
No one ever died from smoking marijuana, but millions of people have died by believing politicians.
When you know that you're capable of dealing with whatever comes, you have the only security the world has to offer.
You can't give the government the power to do good without also giving it the power to do bad - in fact, to do anything it wants.
Sometimes it is better to lose and do the right thing than to win and do the wrong thing.
The sole means of protecting your solitude is to offend everyone, beginning with those you love.
The yogi cannot be afraid to die, because he has brought life to every cell of his body. We are afraid to die, because we are afraid we have not lived. The yogi has lived.
I feel as if I am an ad for the sale of a haunted house: 18 rooms $37,000 Iβm yours ghosts and all.
If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know a man, don't bother analyzing his ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, of seeing how much he is moved by noble ideas; you will get better results if you just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he's a good man.
The basis of democratic freedom is freedom of speech.
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