It is a socialist idea that making profits is a vice; I consider the real vice is making losses.
Winston ChurchillRead
Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone else says anything back, that is an outrage.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the hypocritical nature of free speech, where people often support it only when it aligns with their views.
Winston Churchill's quote highlights the paradox of free speech; while many advocate for it, they often become defensive or outraged when confronted with opposing viewpoints. This reflects a selective tolerance of opinions and reveals the complexity of truly embracing free speech, which should encompass all perspectives, even those that challenge our own beliefs.
In practice
During a debate about free speech rights on campus.
It is a socialist idea that making profits is a vice; I consider the real vice is making losses.
The United States is like a gigantic boiler. Once the fire is lit under it, there's no limit to the power it can generate.
Politics is almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times.
I will not pretend that if I had to choose between communism and Nazism I would choose communism.
Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them.
True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.
Man only remains hypnotised with the false idea of an ego. When this ghost is off from us, all dreams vanish, and then it is found that the one Self only exists from the highest Being to a blade of grass.
I believe that a worthwhile life is defined by a kind of spiritual journey and a sense of obligation.
My feminism does not demand that a woman have an equal opportunity to torture, alongside men. Torture is no less wrong because a woman, not a man, carries it out.
Tyranny and anarchy are never far apart.
It is highly improbable that the bureaucrat will put his life on the line. It is absolutely impossible that he'll put his job on the line.
Liberty, taking the word in its concrete sense, consists in the ability to choose.
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