Quotations from the First Amendment Center:

“I wonder whether the historians whose job it will be to sift through all the refuse we reporters deposit on the pile of history might not notice some articles of value we did not notice at the time.” — Charles Kuralt, journalist, author, 1995

“The greatest achievement of humanity — freedom of speech — has served as both the source and the incentive of progress.” — Eduard Shevardnadze, former Georgian president, 2001

“Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them.” — Adlai E. Stevenson, politician, 1952

“Those who say a demonstration should be concerned with education rather than theater don’t understand either and will never organize a successful demonstration, or for that matter, a successful revolution.” — Abbie Hoffman, political activist, 1971

“The moment you declare a set of ideas to be immune from criticism, satire, derision or contempt, freedom of thought becomes impossible.” — Salman Rushdie, novelist, 2005

“Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself.” — Potter Stewart, former U.S. Supreme Court justice

“One of the things that almost never works is secrecy — particularly secrecy in defense of dumbness.” — Newt Gingrich, former speaker, U.S. House of Representatives, 1996

“How can religion raise a prophet’s fist against government with its other hand open for a handout?” — J. Brent Walker, executive director, Baptist Joint Committee, 2001

“If battlefield commanders in a life-or-death struggle can tolerate and even welcome cameras, what possible argument can the nation’s highest court still make for keeping them out?” — Tony Mauro, correspondent, American Lawyer Media, 2003