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Civil Liberties Quotes

Browse 267 quotes about Civil Liberties.

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Civil Liberties Quotes

“Among the natural rights of the colonists are these: First a right to life, secondly to liberty, and thirdly to property; together with the right to defend them in the best manner they can.”

FirstsTogetherNaturalLibertyRightsPropertyCivil RightsRebelliousFreedom And LibertyFreedom LibertyPrivate PropertyCivil LibertiesProperty RightsAmerican RevolutionBearing ArmsIndividual LibertyIndividual RightsRights And FreedomsRight To LifeNatural RightsLiberty And JusticeColonists
Book:Samuel Adams: selections from his writings
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“I like Mitt Romney as a person. I think he's a dignified person. But I have no common ground on economics. He doesn't worry about the Federal Reserve. He doesn't worry about foreign policy. He doesn't talk about civil liberties, so I would have a hard time to expect him to ever invite me to campaign with him.”

ThinkingPersonsHardCommonLibertyWorryPolicyEconomicsCampaignsHard TimesInvitesForeign PolicyReservesRomneyCivil LibertiesFederal ReserveCommon Ground
Author:Ron Paul
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“By international standards, many of the U.K.'s policies for civil society are exemplary. However, there are concerns about constraints on civil liberties - particularly restrictions on free assembly and about the rising tide of everyday regulation has seriously impeded community activity - from organising street parties to helping children.”

ChildrenHelpingCommunityPartyLibertyStreetsPolicyActivityStandardsConcernEverydayInternationalRisingRegulationTidesRestrictionConstraintsAssemblyCivil LibertiesCivil SocietyExemplaryHelping Children
Author:Geoff Mulgan
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“The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding.”

MenWellsWarStatesGovernmentPeaceUnderstandingFreedomLibertyDangerCitizensLibertarianPrivacyAnti WarAntiwarAmendmentsRulersFirst AmendmentGoverningZealFreedom And LibertyFreedom LibertyCivil LibertiesProperty RightsLimited GovernmentRight To Bear ArmsBearing ArmsInsidiousLimiting GovernmentRights And FreedomsLibertarian PartyFounding Fathers GunLimited Freedom2 AmendmentUnited States GovernmentEncroachmentEternal VigilanceGreat LibertarianLiberty And JusticeAmerica FreedomPrice Of FreedomSupreme Court JusticeLimiting FreedomGreat FreedomAmendment 1Government PolicyFourth AmendmentGovernment And PoliticsFreedom To ReadLaw CourtsAmendment 4Controlling GovernmentLiberty And Justice For AllSecurity And FreedomJustice TruthDivided GovernmentConflicting OpinionsWrits Of Assistance
Author:Louis D. Brandeis
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“Experience teaches us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent.”

GovernmentPurposeLibertyTeachCitizensProtectLibertarianPrivacyAmendmentsRulersFirst AmendmentGoverningFreedom And LibertyFree SocietyFreedom LibertyCivil LibertiesProperty RightsLimited GovernmentVigilanceRight To Bear ArmsBearing ArmsInsidiousLimiting GovernmentRights And FreedomsLibertarian PartyFounding Fathers GunLimited FreedomEncroachmentEternal VigilanceLiberty And JusticePrice Of FreedomSupreme Court JusticeLimiting FreedomAmendment 1Government PolicyFourth AmendmentGovernment And PoliticsFreedom To ReadGovernment PoliticsLaw CourtsControlling GovernmentLiberty And Justice For AllSecurity And FreedomPurpose Of GovernmentJustice TruthDivided GovernmentConflicting OpinionsWrits Of Assistance
Author:Louis D. Brandeis
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“History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes.”

PeopleBelieveWellsGovernmentPurposeReligionPoliticsI BelieveReligiousLeaderChristianityAtheismExampleIgnoranceMarkSeparationGradesPriestsVotersFoundersLowestFoundingMaintainingChurch And StateSeparation Of Church And StateCivil LibertiesOur Founding FathersFounding Fathers ChristianState GovernmentPhilosophy Of ReligionOrganized ReligionUs Founding FathersFounding Fathers ReligionSeparation Between Church And StateFounding Fathers ReligiousInfidelReligion GodChristian ChurchFree GovernmentFounding Fathers Anti ReligionFounding Fathers Of AmericaFounding AmericaAmerican Founding FathersFounding Fathers AtheistReligious PhilosophyChristianity From Founding FathersChristian AtheistReligion ChristianChristian FatherPhilosophy And ReligionReligious LeadersReligion And GovernmentChristian RightAnti ReligionFaith ReligionChristian GodReligion PoliticsChurch HistoryGovernment PoliticsChristianity And GovernmentReligious HistoryChristian Philosophy
Book:Jefferson: Political Writings
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“If by a "Liberal," they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people - their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties - someone who believes that we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a "Liberal," then I'm proud to say that I'm a "Liberal."”

PeopleIfsBelieveLooksMeanIdeasCareSchoolJobsPoliticalBehindsLibertyBreakRightsPolicyProudDemocratReactionsCivil RightsWelfareSuspicionNew IdeasWho CaresHousingCivil LibertiesBreak ThroughProfiles In CourageStalemate
Author:John F. Kennedy
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“The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation – enlightened as it is – if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of designing men.”

IfsMenShouldCountryAmericaSufferingLibertyStruggleViolenceGenerationsBloodDangerDesignDutyFairsConstitutionMarkWorthyTreasureTyrannyOur CountryPatriotismEnlightenedPatrioticExpensesAncestorPatriotToilEverlastingInheritanceCheatedHazardsCivil LibertiesArtificeAmerican PatrioticInfamyGreat PatrioticUs ConstitutionAmerican PatriotismAmerican PatriotPatriotism In AmericaAmerican ConstitutionPatriotism And Freedom4th Of July Military
Author:Samuel Adams
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“If the fires of freedom and civil liberties burn low in other lands they must be made brighter in our own. If in other lands the press and books and literature of all kinds are censored we must redouble our efforts here to keep them free. If in other lands the eternal truths of the past are threatened by intolerance we must provide a safe place for their perpetuation.”

IfsKindMadeBookPastLiteratureFreedomEffortLibertyHistoryFireLandSafeEternalLowsPressesLibertarianAll KindsIntoleranceThreatenedBrighterCivil LibertiesSafe PlacesCensored
Book:Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: F.D. Roosevelt, 1938, Volume 7
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“The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.”

PeopleGivingWisdomEnergyFreedomLibertyDemocracyEnvironmentRevolutionGiving UpClimate ChangeLibertarianTyrannyCivil RightsDelusionAmendmentsNot Giving UpNever Giving UpFreedom And LibertySecond AmendmentFreedom LibertyPrivate PropertyCivil LibertiesProperty RightsLimited GovernmentDemocracies HavePolice StateBearing ArmsHuman FreedomRights And FreedomsFounding Fathers GunLimited FreedomPolitical Freedom2 AmendmentFounding Fathers Second AmendmentLimiting FreedomLiberty And EqualityFreedom And PeaceDemocracy And Human RightsSecurity And FreedomSecurity And LibertyPolitical Equality
Author:Edmund Burke
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“Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites…in proportion as they are more disposed to listen to the counsels of the wise and good, in preference to the flattery of knaves. Society cannot exist, unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere; and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters.”

MenMindPassionLibertyMoralWiseEternalConstitutionChainsProportionAppetiteVirtuousDispositionPreferenceFlatteryQualifiedCivil LibertiesFettersKnavesMoral VirtuesControlling Power
Author:Edmund Burke
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“Patriotism threatens free speech with death. It is infuriated by thoughtful hesitation, constructive criticism of our leaders and pleas for peace. It despises people of foreign birth. It has specifically blamed homosexuals, feminists and the American Civil Liberties Union. In other words, the American flag stands for intimidation, censorship, violence, bigotry, sexism, homophobia and shoving the Constitution through a paper shredder. Whom are we calling terrorists here?”

PeopleLibertyLeaderViolenceBirthCallingSpeechPaperCriticismConstitutionUnionsFeministTerroristThoughtfulPatriotismBigotrySexismDespiseFlagsCensorshipFree SpeechHomosexualConstructiveHesitationHomophobiaCivil LibertiesIntimidationAmerican FlagConstructive Criticism
Author:Barbara Kingsolver
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“I think Mrs Thatcher did more damage to democracy, equality, internationalism, civil liberties, freedom in this country than any other Prime Minister this century. When the euphoria surrounding her departure subsides you will find that in a year or two's time there will not be a Tory who admits ever supporting her. People in the street will say, thank God she's gone”

PeopleThinkingYearsTwoCountryPoliticsLibertyGoneDemocracyStreetsCenturyMinistersDamagePrimeThank GodPrime MinisterDepartureCivil LibertiesEuphoriaInternationalismMrs Thatcher
Author:Tony Benn
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“The privacy and dignity of our citizens is being whittled away by sometimes imperceptible steps. Taken individually, each step may be of little consequence. But when viewed as a whole, there begins to emerge a society quite unlike any we have seen - a society in which government may intrude into the secret regions of a life.”

MayLittlesSometimesWholeGovernmentSecretStepsTakenSocietyCitizensConsequenceDignityLibertarianPrivacyRegionsCivil LibertiesIndividual Liberty
Author:William O. Douglas
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“Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.”

PoliticsTeachingDangerousRevolutionSpeechDefeatLibertarianCivil RightsCensorshipFree SpeechFreedom Of SpeechRestrictionFirst AmendmentFreedom And LibertyFreedom Of ThoughtFreedom LibertyCivil LibertiesAmerican RevolutionBannedLimiting GovernmentRights And FreedomsLimited FreedomCensoredSubversionCensoringAmerican LibertyFree ThoughtBanned BooksLimiting FreedomCensorship In BooksAmerican FreedomBook BanningIntellectual FreedomPolitical RevolutionCensoring BooksFreedom To ReadFirst Amendment RightsRights In America
Author:William O. Douglas
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“The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws . . . The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and his Apostles . . . This is genuine Christianity and to this we owe our free constitutions of government.”

GovernmentFormLawChristLibertyMoralChristianityPrinciplesOughtBasesConstitutionScriptureGenuine4th Of JulyApostlesCivil LibertiesMoral PrinciplesChristian Heritage
Author:Noah Webster
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“I spent my entire career trying to protect the Constitution, the civil rights and the civil liberties of American citizens and people who are here lawfully. I, as chair of this commission, would not be a party to any system that I felt was an unpardonable intrusion into the private lives of people. If I felt that what we are recommending would be such an intrusion I can assure you that recommendation would never have seen the light of day, not even as a pilot program.”

PeopleIfsTryingI CanLightWould BeFeltPartyLibertyCareersRightsCitizensProtectProgramConstitutionImmigrationCivil RightsChairsPilotsPrivate LifeCivil LibertiesAmerican CitizensRecommendationsIntrusion
Author:Barbara Jordan
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“Civil liberty is only natural liberty, modified and secured by the sanctions of civil society.”

NaturalLibertySanctionsCivil LibertiesCivil SocietySecured
Book:The Works of Alexander Hamilton: Miscellanies, 1774-1789: A full vindication; The farmer refuted; Quebec bill; Resolutions in Congress; Letters from Phocion; New-York Legislature, etc
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“[If you understood the natural rights of mankind,] [y]ou would be convinced that natural liberty is a gift of the beneficent Creator to the whole human race, and that civil liberty is founded in that, and cannot be wrested from any people without the most manifest violation of justice.”

PeopleIfsHumansWholeWould BeNaturalJusticeRaceLibertyRightsMankindUnderstoodCreatorConvincedHuman RaceManifestViolationCivil LibertiesNatural Rights
Author:Alexander Hamilton
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“If we don't believe in free expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.”

PeopleIfsInspirationalBelieveHateBeliefFreedomRightsRelationshipExpressionCommunicationWise WordsHeroSpeechDon't BelieveHuman RightsEqualityLibertarianCivil RightsDespiseCensorshipFree SpeechFreedom Of SpeechFirst AmendmentFreedom And LibertyDespisedFreedom LibertyCivil LibertiesFreedom Of ExpressionLinguisticsFreedom Of The PressHuman FreedomLimiting GovernmentRights And FreedomsLimited FreedomPolitical WillHate SpeechPolitical FreedomCensoredCensoringAmerica FreedomLinguistsLimiting FreedomLimiting Freedom Of ExpressionLiberty Of SpeechBelieve In UsFirst Amendment RightsFreedom Of Speech And Expression
Author:Noam Chomsky
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“Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in the insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding.”

MenShouldWellsGovernmentPurposeEvilPoliticsUnderstandingBornFreedomLibertyTeachDangerProtectIndependentPrivacyAmendmentsRulersInvasionZealFreedom And LibertyFreedom LibertyCivil LibertiesBearing ArmsInsidiousLurkingRights And FreedomsGuardingEncroachmentLiberty And JusticePrice Of FreedomBeneficenceInvasion Of PrivacyFourth AmendmentSecurity And FreedomRulershipEvil GovernmentConflicting OpinionsRepelling
Author:Louis D. Brandeis
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“The federal war on drugs is a total failure... The federal government's going in there and overriding state laws... Why don't we handle the drugs like we handle alcohol? ... I fear the drug war because it undermines our civil liberties. It magnifies our problems on the borders. We've spent over the last 40 years a trillion dollars on this war and - believe me - the kids can still get the drugs. It just hasn't worked.”

YearsBelieveStillsWarStatesProblemGovernmentKidsLastsLawLibertyDrugDollarsAlcoholHandleBordersMarijuanaBelieve In MeFederal GovernmentCivil LibertiesWar On Drugs
Author:Ron Paul
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