The successful politician owes his power to the fact that he moves within the accepted framework of thought, that he thinks and talks conventionally. It would be almost a contradiction in terms for a politician to be a leader in the field of ideas. His task in a democracy is to find out what the opinions held by the largest number are, not to give currency to new opinions which may become the majority view in some distant future.
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The inner censor of the mind of the true believer completes the work of the public censor; his self-discipline is read more
The inner censor of the mind of the true believer completes the work of the public censor; his self-discipline is as tyrannical as the obedience imposed by the regime; he terrorizes his own conscience into submission; he carries his private Iron Curtain inside his skull, to protect his illusions against the intrusion of reality.
All who think cannot but see there is a sanction like that of religion which binds us in partnership in read more
All who think cannot but see there is a sanction like that of religion which binds us in partnership in the serious work of the world.
The essential characteristic of Western civilization that distinguishes it from the arrested and petrified civilizations of the East was and read more
The essential characteristic of Western civilization that distinguishes it from the arrested and petrified civilizations of the East was and is its concern for freedom from the state. The history of the West, from the age of the Greek polis down to the present-day resistance to socialism, is essentially the history of the fight for liberty against the encroachments of the officeholders.
I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot.
I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot.
The fact is that up to now a free society has not been good for the intellectual. It has neither read more
The fact is that up to now a free society has not been good for the intellectual. It has neither accorded him a superior status to sustain his confidence nor made it easy for him to acquire an unquestioned sense of social usefulness. For he derives his sense of usefulness mainly from directing, instructing, and planning- from minding other people's business- and is bound to feel superfluous and neglected where people believe themselves competent to manage individual and communal affairs, and are impatient of supervision and regulation. A free society is as much a threat to the intellectual's sense of worth as an automated economy is to the workingman's sense of worth. Any social order that can function with a minimum of leadership will be anathema to the intellectual.
This case is wholly without merit both factually and legally.
(US District Judge in commenting on the Fox network lawsuit
read more
This case is wholly without merit both factually and legally.
(US District Judge in commenting on the Fox network lawsuit
against Al Franken's book).
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep read more
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. - "Amendment II".
There is no such thing as a nonpolitical speech by a politician.
There is no such thing as a nonpolitical speech by a politician.
Nobody can be trusted with unlimited power. The more power a regime has, the more likely people will be killed. read more
Nobody can be trusted with unlimited power. The more power a regime has, the more likely people will be killed. This is a major reason for promoting freedom.
