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William O. Douglas

William O. Douglas Quotes

Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States

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Famous William O. Douglas Quotes

“I think that the influence towards suppression of minority views - towards orthodoxy in thinking about public issues - has been more subconscious than unconscious, stemming to a very great extent from the tendency of Americans to conform...not to deviate or depart from an orthodox point of view.”

ThinkingHas BeensJusticeViewsIssuesInfluencePoint Of ViewTendenciesUnconsciousMinoritiesOrthodoxSubconsciousConformOrthodoxySuppressionDeviate
Author:William O. Douglas
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“This freedom of movement is the very essence of our free society, setting us apart. Like the right of assembly and the right of association, it often makes all other rights meaningful-knowing, studying, arguing, exploring, conversing, observing and even thinking. Once the right to travel is curtailed, all other rights suffer, just as when curfew or home detention is placed on a person.”

ThinkingPersonsHomeLawSufferingKnowingStudyRightsMovementEssenceArguingMeaningfulSettingSettingsAssociationExploringObservingAssemblyFree SocietyDetentionCurfew
Author:William O. Douglas
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“Where suspicion fills the air and holds scholars in line for fear of their jobs, there can be no exercise of the free intellect. Supineness and dogmatism take the place of inquiry. A problem can no longer be pursued to its edges. Fear stalks the classroom. The teacher is no longer a stimulant to adventurous thinking; she becomes instead a pipe line for safe and sound information. A deadening dogma takes the place of free inquiry. Instruction tends to become sterile; pursuit of knowledge is discouraged; discussion often leaves off where it should begin.”

ThinkingShouldProblemJobsFearSoundLinesTeacherAirInformationExerciseSafeEdgesIntellectPursuitDiscussionInstructionClassroomScholarDogmaSuspicionInquiryDiscouragedPursuedPipeAdventurousStalkingPursuit Of KnowledgeDogmatismStimulantsSafe And Sound
Author:William O. Douglas
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“Man is about to be an automaton; he is identifiable only in the computer. As a person of worth and creativity, as a being with an infinite potential, he retreats and battles the forces that make him inhuman. The dissent we witness is a reaffirmation of faith in man; it is protest against living under rules and prejudices and attitudes that produce the extremes of wealth and poverty and that make us dedicated to the destruction of people through arms, bombs, and gases, and that prepare us to think alike and be submissive objects for the regime of the computer.”

PeopleThinkingMenPersonsForceWealthAttitudePovertyCreativityObjectsProduceArmsBattleComputerDestructionPrejudiceInfiniteExtremesWitnessBombsProtestDedicatedRegimesRetreatDissentInhumanSubmissiveWealth And PovertyInfinite Potential
Author:William O. Douglas
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