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Quote by Timothy Garton Ash

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Free World: America, Europe, and the Surprising Future of the West

This book delves into the complex interplay of political, social, and economic factors that are currently shaping the West, focusing on America and Europe. It offers a speculative analysis of the potential future developments and challenges that these regions may face. more

Author

Timothy Garton Ash
Timothy Garton Ash

Timothy Garton Ash, born July 12, 1955, is a distinguished British historian specializing in modern European history, particularly the Cold War and the transformation of Central and Eastern Europe. He serves as Professor of European Studies at Oxford University and is a senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. His influential works include "The Polish Revolution," "The File," and "The Uses of Adversity," which have been translated into numerous languages. Ash is also a regular contributor to major publications including The Guardian and The New York Times, bringing historical perspective to contemporary political discourse. more

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“The trouble is that privacy is at once essential to, and in tension with, both freedom and security. A cabinet minister who keeps his mistress in satin sheets at the French taxpayer's expense cannot justly object when the press exposes his misuse of public funds. Our freedom to scrutinise the conduct of public figures trumps that minister's claim to privacy. The question is: where and how do we draw the line between a genuine public interest and that which is merely what interests the public?”

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“The first job of the historian and of the journalist is to find facts. Not the only job, perhaps not the most important, but the first. Facts are the cobblestones from which we build roads of analysis, mosaic tiles that we fit together to compose pictures of past and present. There will be disagreement about where the road leads and what reality or truth is revealed by the mosaic picture. The facts themselves must be checked against all the available evidence. But some are round and hard--and the most powerful leaders in the world can trip over them. So can writers, dissidents and saints.”

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“In a democracy it is ultimately for us, the citizens, to judge where to place the balance between security and privacy, safety and liberty. It's our lives and liberties that are threatened, not only by terrorism but also by massive depredations of our privacy in the name of counter-terrorism. If those companies from which governments actually take most of our intimate details want to show that they are still on the side of the angels, they had better join this struggle for transparency too.”

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“It is not just that it is profoundly offensive to the leaders and people of a democratic Germany to paint Hitler on the wall (or on the remnants of the Wall). It is also consummately counterproductive. Such sauce does not make the meat of substantive criticism more interesting. It means that the whole dish is pushed away. It does not mean that Britain's voice is listened to more attentively in the councils of Europe. It means that it is listened to even less.”

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