A quotation from Henry Commager
We cannot have a society half slave and half free; nor can we have thought half slave and half free. If we create an atmosphere in which men fear to think independently, inquire fearlessly, express themselves freely, we will in the end create the kind of society in which men no longer care to think independently or to inquire fearlessly.Henry Steele Commager (1902-1998) American historian, writer, activist
Essay (1949-11-05), “What Ideas Are Safe?” Saturday Review
More about this quote: wist.info/commager-henry-steel…
#quote #quotes #quotation #qotd #henrycommager #fear #freeexpression #freedomofspeech #freedomofthought #freethinking #independence #inquiry #intellectualfreedom #oppression #questioning #thoughtcontrol
Critics slam German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's push to end online anonymity as a "demolition ball" to freedom of expression. Is real-name posting the cure or a threat to open debate? 🚜🗣️ #FreeExpression #DigitalRights https://www.heise.de/en/news/Demolition-ball-for-freedom-of-speech-Criticism-of-Merz-s-anti-anonymity-course-11184925.html
#Newz
https://tenor.com/view/nuh-uh-meme-nuh-uh-phoenix-wright-ace-attorney-gif-15697829963566837629
[en] Reconstructing Free Expression
"The Trump administration is engaged in a full-scale assault on First Amendment rights and values, violating laws and using threats to create a climate of fear and self-censorship. Its attacks—often successful—have exposed significant, longstanding weaknesses in the laws, institutions, and norms that underwrite public discourse."
"This initiative will encompass a series of closed convenings with scholars and advocates to generate ideas for legal, institutional, and other reforms ..."
https://knightcolumbia.org/research/reconstructing-free-expression
#freeexpression #firstamendment #usa #selfcensorship #trumpadministration #knightcolumbia #columbia #cornell #universitychicago

Orangeburg, South Carolina — February 8, 1968American history remembers Kent State. It remembers the photograph, the outrage, the arguments that followed. What it rarely remembers is that two years earlier, in a small Southern town, police opened fire on unarmed Black students who were trying to leave.The event is known as the Orangeburg Massacre, though for decades it barely registered as a massacre at all.By 1968, segregation was illegal. The Civil Rights Act had been law for four years, but O
Roman satire revealed power’s fragility through laughter.
When humor undermined authority, emperors responded by criminalizing mockery rather than violence.
History reminds us why satire has always been dangerous to rulers.
🗡️😂
#History #FreeExpression #Brewminate
https://brewminate.com/silencing-the-laughing-knife-satire-power-and-censorship-in-the-roman-empire/
There is so much to he said about the hypocrisy of France's proposed #SocialMediaBan for children, but let's start with this quote from President #Macron:
"The emotions of our #children and #teenagers are not for sale or to be manipulated, either by American #platforms or Chinese #algorithms."
As if those were the only two God-given options. He'd rather ban an entire idea than help us build something better.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/27/france-social-media-ban-under-15s