Freedom Quotes

"One should never put on one's best trousers to go out to battle for freedom and truth"

"Women are degraded by the propensity to enjoy the present moment, and, at last, despise the freedom which they have not sufficient virtue to struggle to attain"

Mary Wollstonecraft, Writer

"Perfect freedom is as necessary to the health and vigor of commerce as it is to the health and vigor of citizenship"

Patrick Henry, Politician

"And what do Democrats stand for, if they are so ready to defame concerned citizens as the "mob" - a word betraying a Marie Antoinette delusion of superiority to ordinary mortals. I thought my party was populist, attentive to the needs and wishes of those outside the power structure. And as a product of the 1960s, I thought the Democratic party was passionately committed to freedom of thought and speech"

Camille Paglia, Author

"The momentum of freedom in our world is unmistakable - and it is not carried forward by our power alone. We can trust in that greater power Who guides the unfolding of the years. And in all that is to come, we can know that His purposes are just and true"

George W. Bush, President

"Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity"

Herbert Hoover, President

"One of the interesting things here is that the people who should be shaping the future are politicians. But the political framework itself is so dead and closed that people look to other sources, like artists, because art and music allow people a certain freedom"

Thom Yorke, Musician

"Freedom is the oxygen of the soul"

Moshe Dayan, Soldier

"Our work is a scream of freedom"

Christo, Artist

"We do not commonly see in a tax a diminution of freedom, and yet it clearly is one"

Herbert Spencer, Philosopher

"Freedom would be not to choose between black and white but to abjure such prescribed choices"

Theodor Adorno, Philosopher

"The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism"

Wole Soyinka, Dramatist

"Freedom is never given; it is won"

A. Philip Randolph, Activist

"Freedom is the oxygen without which science cannot breathe"

David Sarnoff, Inventor

"I regard freedom of expression as the primary right without which one can not have a proper functioning democracy"

Lord Hailsham, Politician

"One of my great joys in life is being a pilot. There is a great sense of freedom in soaring through the sky. You get a different perspective up there. Seeing things that aren't so apparent from the ground"

Sonny Perdue, Politician

"The perfection of our union, especially our commitment to equality of opportunity, has been a story of constant striving to live up to our Founding principles. This is what Abraham Lincoln meant when he said, 'In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free - honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve.'"

Paul Ryan, Politician

"Thus, it was to seek true civilization and true justice for all the peoples of the world, and to view this as the destruction of personal freedom and respect is to be assailed by the hatred and emotion of war, and to make hasty judgments"

Hideki Tojo, Soldier

"And why do we, who say we oppose tyranny and demand freedom of speech, allow people to go to prison and be vilified, and magazines to be closed down on the spot, for suggesting another version of history"

David Icke, Athlete

"I don't like freedom jazz - I think it's void of roots and void of foundation"

George Shearing, Musician

"All real freedom springs from necessity, for it can be gained only through the exercise of the individual will, and that will can be roused to energetic action only by the force of necessity acting upon it from the outside to spur it to effort"

Anna C. Brackett

"There's a glorious sense of freedom in comedy, just allowing myself to tell jokes, allowing myself to interrupt myself and tell old African folk stories that I made up - or didn't - and Jamaican stories"

Neil Gaiman, Author

"The claim that the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked because fundamentalists hate our prosperity and freedom is a ridiculous lie"

L. Neil Smith, Writer

"Today is a celebration of hope for the Iraqi people. The Iraqi people can now take control of their government and their future by creating a society that protects the rights endowed to us by our creator - life, liberty and freedom"

Jim DeMint, Politician

"Among the best traitors Ireland has ever had, Mother Church ranks at the very top, a massive obstacle in the path to equality and freedom. She has been a force for conservatism... to ward off threats to her own security and influence"

Bernadette Devlin, Politician

"And for man to look upon himself as a capital good, even if it did not impair his freedom, may seem to debase him... by investing in themselves, people can enlarge the range of choice available to them. It is one way free men can enhance their welfare"

Theodore William Schultz, Economist

"From time to time, the irresponsible acts of the Cuban government remind us that this is far more than about the freedom of one country, but it really is about the stability and security of the region and the national security interests of the United States"

Mel Martinez, Politician

"I've sold my soul for freedom. It's lonely but it's sweet"

Melissa Etheridge, Musician

"I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about... Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important"

Nina Simone, Musician

"Whoever will be free must make himself free. Freedom is no fairy gift to fall into a man's lap. What is freedom? To have the will to be responsible for one's self"

Max Stirner, Philosopher

"As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom"

Anthony Kennedy, Judge

"I invested, and I protected myself, so I enjoy that freedom"

Thomas Haden Church, Actor

"We hold our heads high, despite the price we have paid, because freedom is priceless"

Lech Walesa, Activist

"Value your freedom or you will lose it, teaches history. 'Don't bother us with politics', respond those who don't want to learn"

Richard Stallman, Scientist

"I think we're struggling with trying to redefine various positions at this point in history. To allow freedom for women, freedom for men, freedom from those sharply defined gender roles"

Fred Ward, Actor

"I spent a great deal of time with Che Guevara while I was in Havana. I believe he was far less a mercenary than he was a freedom fighter"

Maureen O'Hara, Actress

"The fire was followed by a period of grieving and then by an incredible lightness, freedom, and mobility"

Martin Puryear, Sculptor

"A man is either free or he is not. There cannot be any apprenticeship for freedom"

Amiri Baraka, Poet

"When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again"

Edith Hamilton, Writer

"Freedom of speech is always under attack by Fascist mentality, which exists in all parts of the world, unfortunately"

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Poet

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