William O. Douglas Quotes


The search for static security -- in the law and elsewhere -- is misguided. The fact is security can only be achieved through constant change, adapting old ideas that have outlived their usefulness to current facts. William O. Douglas Change 104
The critical point is that the Constitution places the right of silence beyond the reach of government. William O. Douglas Beyond 90
It is our attitude toward free thought and free expression that will determine our fate. There must be no limit on the range of temperate discussion, no limits on thought. No subject must be taboo. No censor must preside at our assemblies. William O. Douglas Censorship 85
We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being. William O. Douglas Being 82
Violence has no constitutional sanction; and every government from the beginning has moved against it. But where grievances pile high and most of the elected spokesmen represent the Establishment, violence may be the only effective response. William O. Douglas 79
The great and invigorating influences in American life have been the unorthodox: the people who challenge an existing institution of way of life, or say and so things that make people think. William O. Douglas Speech 73
Since when have we Americans been expected to bow submissively to authority and speak with awe and reverence to those who represent us? William O. Douglas Authority 72
Marriage is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring, and intimate to the degree of being sacred. William O. Douglas Marriage 71
The association promotes a way of life, not causes; a harmony in living, not political faiths; a bilateral loyalty, not commercial or social projects. Yet it is an association for as noble a purpose as any involved in any prior decisions. William O. Douglas Association 70
It seemed to me that I had barely reached the Court when people were trying to get me off. William O. Douglas Barely 69
No patent medicine was ever put to wider and more varied use than the Fourteenth Amendment. William O. Douglas Amendment 64
The liberties of none are safe unless the liberties of all are protected. William O. Douglas Liberties 62
Free speech is not to be regulated like diseased cattle and impure butter. The audience that hissed yesterday may applaud today, even for the same performance. William O. Douglas Politics 57
Literature should not be suppressed merely because it offends the moral code of the censor. William O. Douglas Censor 55
Ive often thought that if our zoning boards could be put in charge of botanists, of zoologists and geologists, and people who know about the earth, we would have much more wisdom in such planning than we have when we leave it to the engineers. William O. Douglas 53
The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to take the government off the backs of people. William O. Douglas Government 50
The right to be let alone is indeed the beginning of all freedoms. William O. Douglas alone 50
At the constitutional level where we work, 90 percent of any decision is emotional. The rational part of us supplies the reasons for supporting our predilections. William O. Douglas Constitutional 50
The right to revolt has sources deep in our history. William O. Douglas Deep 50
Tell the FBI that the kidnappers should pick out a judge that Nixon wants back. William O. Douglas History 46
Common sense often makes good law. William O. Douglas Common 45
One who comes to the Court must come to adore, not to protest. That's the new gloss on the 1st Amendment. William O. Douglas History 41
We must realize that todays Establishment is the new George III. Whether it will continue to adhere to his tactics, we do not know. If it does, the redress, honored in tradition, is also revolution. William O. Douglas Revolution 39
We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. We can seek to challenge and annoy, as we need not stay docile and quiet. William O. Douglas Angrily 35
The use of violence as an instrument of persuasion is therefore inviting and seems to the discontented to be the only effective protest. William O. Douglas 33
Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us. William O. Douglas Dissent 33
We do not sit as a superlegislature to weigh the wisdom of legislation. William O. Douglas Wisdom 32
The 5th Amendment is an old friend and a good friend. one of the great landmarks in men's struggle to be free of tyranny, to be decent and civilized. William O. Douglas Uncategorized 30
Religious experiences which are as real as life to some may be incomprehensible to others. William O. Douglas Religion 28
We are rapidly entering the age of no privacy, where everyone is open to surveillance at all times; where there are no secrets from government. William O. Douglas 22

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William O. Douglas Quotes

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