"When any government, or any church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, This you may not read, this you must not see, this you are forbidden to know, the end result is tyranny and oppression no matter how holy the motives"
- Robert A. Heinlein
About this Quote
This quote by Robert A. Heinlein speaks to the risks of censorship and the power of knowledge. He is warning versus any federal government or church that attempts to manage what its residents can and can not read, see, or know. He argues that no matter how honorable the objectives, the result of such censorship is always tyranny and oppression. This quote speaks with the significance of flexibility of speech and the right to access information. It is a reminder that knowledge is power which any effort to restrict access to it is a type of control. It is a call to action to safeguard the right to access information and to ensure that citizens are not denied the right to make their own decisions based upon the realities.
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