"We are willing enough to praise freedom when she is safely tucked away in the past and cannot be a nuisance. In the present, amidst dangers whose outcome we cannot foresee, we get nervous about her, and admit censorship"
- E. M. Forster
About this Quote
This quote by E. M. Forster speaks to the idea that people are typically happy to applaud liberty when it remains in the past and not a current concern. We are comfy with the idea of flexibility when it is not a nuisance or a threat. Nevertheless, when freedom is a current problem, and the result of it doubts, people become worried and are more likely to accept censorship. This quote speaks with the idea that people are often more comfy with the concept of liberty when it is not a current problem, and that when it is, they are most likely to accept censorship as a way to secure themselves from the unidentified. It likewise speaks to the concept that flexibility is often seen as a luxury, and not a need, which individuals want to sacrifice it in order to feel safe.
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