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Freedom

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“Independence itself came to us as what Gandhi famously called a "wooden loaf'-a notional freedom tainted by the blood of the thousands who died during Partition.”
Arundhati Roy (born 1961) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: War Talk (2003)
“What does the term “anti-American” mean? Does it mean you are anti-jazz? Or... opposed to freedom of speech?...That you have a quarrel with giant sequoias? Does it mean that you don't admire the hundreds of thousands of American citizens who marched against nuclear weapons, or the thousands... who forced their government to withdraw from Vietnam? Does it mean that you hate all Americans?”
Arundhati Roy (born 1961) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In limitations he first shows himself the master, And the law can only bring us freedom.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) first seen 1802 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Was Wir Bringen (1802)
“Each time a country is freed, we say, it is a defeat for the world imperialist system, but we must agree that real liberation or breaking away from the imperialist system is not achieved by the mere act of proclaiming independence or winning an armed victory in a revolution. Freedom is achieved when imperialist economic domination over a people is brought to an end.”
Che Guevara (1928–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We socialists are freer because we are more fulfilled; we are more fulfilled because we are freer. The skeleton of our complete freedom is already formed. The flesh and the clothing are lacking; we will create them.”
Che Guevara (1928–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We believe in freedom with a passion that only those who have been denied it for so long can understand it, We believe in equality because so many in our nation have been denied for so long, we believe in human worth for that is the basis for all our current work in India.”
Indira Gandhi (1917–1984) first seen 1982 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jul 29 1982
“Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it.”
Malcolm X (1925–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Power in defense of freedom is greater than power in behalf of tyranny and oppression.”
Malcolm X (1925–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I do believe that there will be a clash between East and West. I believe that there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation. I believe that there will be that kind of clash, but I don't think that it will be based upon the color of the skin....”
Malcolm X (1925–1965) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: January 1965, p. 216
“Armed with the knowledge of our past, we can with confidence charter a course for our future. Culture is an indispensable weapon in the freedom struggle. We must take hold of it and forge the future with the past.”
Malcolm X (1925–1965) first seen 1964 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech at Founding Rally of the Organization of Afro-American Unity (28 June 1964), as quoted in By Any Means Necessary (1970)
“I believe in a religion that believes in freedom. Any time I have to accept a religion that won't let me fight a battle for my people, I say to hell with that religion.”
Malcolm X (1925–1965) said by 1965 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The supreme enjoyment is in satisfaction with oneself ; it is in order to deserve this satisfaction that we are placed on earth and endowed with freedom.”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778) said by 1778 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But, braggart demons, we postpone our end: how could we renounce the display of our freedom, the show of our pride?”
Emil Cioran (1911–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Freedom can be manifested only in the void of beliefs, in the absence of axioms, and only where the laws have no more authority than a hypothesis.”
Emil Cioran (1911–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No one can enjoy freedom without trembling.”
Emil Cioran (1911–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For you who no longer possess it, freedom is everything, for us who do, it is merely an illusion.”
Emil Cioran (1911–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Tragic paradox of freedom: the mediocre men who alone make its exercise possible cannot guarantee its duration.”
Emil Cioran (1911–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Having destroyed all my connections, burned my bridges, I should feel a certain freedom, and in fact I do. One so intense I am afraid to rejoice in it.”
Emil Cioran (1911–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It (my book) is a picture of the many spiritual conflicts that have passed between God and my soul, before I could subject mine to the will of Jesus, my Master, in whose service I have now found perfect freedom.”
George Herbert (1593–1633) first seen 1632 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Nicholas Ferrar (1632-33), reported in A. L. Maycock, Nicholas Ferrar of Little Gidding (London: SPCK, 1938)
“Jimmie had said more than once that the upper class enjoyed the true freedom of not caring what anybody else thought about them. Like children perhaps. If that had a bearing, there might be a connection with the boyishness of such people noted by some outside observers, including Indians under the British Raj and later.”
Kingsley Amis (1922–1995) said by 1995 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To whom thy secret thou dost tell, to him thy freedom thou dost sell.”
James Howell (1594–1666) said by 1666 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A man that is fit to make a friend of must have conduct to manage the engagement, and resolution to maintain it. He must use freedom without roughness, and oblige without design. Cowardice will betray friendship, and covetousness will starve it. Folly will be nauseous, passion is apt to ruffle, and pride will fly out into contumely and neglect.”
Jeremy Collier (1650–1726) said by 1726 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The common sense of people will surely prove to them someday that mutual support and cooperation are only sensible for the security and happiness of all. Such faith keeps me continually ready and purposeful with energy to do what one person can towards shaping the environment in which the human being can grow with freedom.”
Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973) said by 1973 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Freedom cannot be bestowed — it must be achieved.”
Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) first seen 1908 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Elbert Hubbard, in his essay on Booker T. Washington in Little Journeys For 1908, p. 21; Franklin D. Roosevelt later used this line on the occasion of the 74th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation: "In the trues…
“In any country, regardless of what its laws say, wherever people act upon the idea that the disadvantage of one man is the good of another, there slavery exists. Wherever, in any country the whole people feel that the happiness of all is dependent upon the happiness of the weakest, there freedom exists.”
Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) first seen 1909 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: An Address on Abraham Lincoln before the Republican Club of New York City (12 February 1909)
“I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his freedom.”
Bob Dylan (born 1941) first seen 1985 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview published with the Biograph album set (1985)
“When I first heard Elvis's voice I just knew that I wasn't going to work for anybody and nobody was going to be my boss. He is the deity supreme of rock and roll religion as it exists in today's form. Hearing him for the first time was like busting out of jail. I think for a long time that freedom to me was Elvis singing 'Blue Moon of Kentucky.' I thank God for Elvis.”
Bob Dylan (born 1941) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Us Weekly (24 August 1987); on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley's death, as reported in Bob Dylan: Performing Artist 1986–1990 and Beyond, Mind out of Time (2009)
“Freedom just around the corner for you, but with truth so far off, what good will it do?”
Bob Dylan (born 1941) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Frank Zappa: I would say the illusion [of freedom] will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move all the tables and chairs out of the way, and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theatre.”
Frank Zappa (1940–1993) said by 1993 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If we like them, they're freedom fighters, she thought. If we don't like them, they're terrorists. In the unlikely case we can't make up our minds, they're temporarily only guerrillas.”
Carl Sagan (1934–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There are no maps to lead us where we are going, to this new world of our own making. As the world looks back to nine decades of war, of strife, of suspicion, let us also look forward—to a new century, and a new millennium, of peace, freedom and prosperity.”
George H. W. Bush (1924–2018) first seen 1990 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: U.S. president George Bush made those comments on January 1, 1990. The Watchtower magazine; In Search of a New World Order (15 July 1991)
“What is at stake is more than one small country [Kuwait], it is a big idea — a new world order where diverse nations are drawn together in common cause to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind: peace and security, freedom and the rule of law.”
George H. W. Bush (1924–2018) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Comment on a "new world order" (29 January 1991), as quoted in The Watchtower magazine, In Search of a New World Order (15 July 1991)
“Yet freedom is not the same as independence. Americans will not support those who seek independence in order to replace a far-off tyranny with a local despotism. They will not aid those who promote a suicidal nationalism based upon ethnic hatred.”
George H. W. Bush (1924–2018) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Chicken Kiev speech" to a session of the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine, (1 August 1991)
“Mikhail Gorbachev's revolutionary policies transformed the Soviet Union. His policies permitted the peoples of Russia and the other Republics to cast aside decades of oppression and establish the foundations of freedom. His legacy guarantees him an honored place in history and provides a solid basis for the United States to work in equally constructive ways with his successors.”
George H. W. Bush (1924–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The United States applauds and supports the historic choice for freedom by the new States of the Commonwealth. We congratulate them on the peaceful and democratic path they have chosen, and for their careful attention to nuclear control and safety during this transition. Despite a potential for instability and chaos, these events clearly serve our national interest.”
George H. W. Bush (1924–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Alternate currents, especially of high frequencies, pass with astonishing freedom through even slightly rarefied gases. The upper strata of the air are rarefied. To reach a number of miles out into space requires the overcoming of difficulties of a merely mechanical nature.”
Nikola Tesla (1856–1943) first seen 1892 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Experiments With Alternate Currents Of High Potential And High Frequency" an address to the Institution of Electrical Engineers, London (February 1892)
“I know of no country in which there is so little independence of mind and real freedom of discussion as in America.”
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) said by 1859 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is easy to see that, even in the freedom of early youth, an American girl never quite loses control of herself; she enjoys all permitted pleasures without losing her head about any of them, and her reason never lets the reins go, though it may often seem to let them flap.”
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) said by 1859 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In America a woman loses her independence for ever in the bonds of matrimony. While there is less constraint on girls there than anywhere else, a wife submits to stricter obligations. For the former, her father's house is a home of freedom and pleasure; for the latter, her husband's is almost a cloister.”
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) said by 1859 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No protracted war can fail to endanger the freedom of a democratic country.”
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) said by 1859 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I should have loved freedom, I believe, at all times, but in the time in which we live I am ready to worship it.”
Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) said by 1859 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[...] one must be cautious in assessing the political significance of the relative freedom from repression — at least for the privileged — in the United States. Exactly what does it mean, concretely?”
Noam Chomsky (born 1928) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think it only makes sense to seek out and identify structures of authority, hierarchy, and domination in every aspect of life, and to challenge them; unless a justification for them can be given, they are illegitimate, and should be dismantled, to increase the scope of human freedom.”
Noam Chomsky (born 1928) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Language and Politics (1988) p. 775
“For those who stubbornly seek freedom around the world, there can be no more urgent task than to come to understand the mechanisms and practices of indoctrination. These are easy to perceive in the totalitarian societies, much less so in the propaganda system to which we are subjected and in which all too often we serve as unwilling or unwitting instruments.”
Noam Chomsky (born 1928) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Propaganda, American-style" in Propaganda Review (1987).
“[The "liberal media"] love to be denounced from the right, and the right loves to denounce them, because that makes them look like courageous defenders of freedom and independence while, in fact, they are imposing all of the presuppositions of the propaganda system.”
Noam Chomsky (born 1928) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview by Ira Shorr, February 11, 1996
“Marxism-Leninism is the richest doctrine in ideas of justice, freedom, equality, fraternity among men.”
Fidel Castro (1926–2016) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech (22 December 1991)
“Let me tell you a story: Once there was a republic. It had its constitution, its laws, its freedoms, a president, a congress and courts of law. Everyone could assemble, associate, speak and write with complete freedom.”
Fidel Castro (1926–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For thirty years the Cubans fought alone for their independence; thirty years of struggle that strengthened our love for freedom and independence.”
Fidel Castro (1926–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Man does not know himself truly except as he knows himself confronted by God. Only in that confrontation does he become aware of his full stature and freedom and of the evil in him.”
Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No nation which refuses to exercise forbearance and to respect the freedom and rights of others can long remain strong and retain the confidence and respect of other nations. No nation ever loses its dignity or good standing by conciliating its differences and by exercising great patience with, and consideration for, the rights of other nations.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) said by 1945 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source