Censorship is a form of repressive control that is usually exercised by corrupt powers, such as governments, companies or a certain sector of society. This occurs when they are threatened by a person or group that questions their ideals or their way of acting, generating disagreement and rebellions that seek a better response, but are silenced by said repression.
Freedom of expression is a right that we all have and although it is necessary to first analyze what we will say, we should never silence a person who dares to express an opinion or question the status quo. Therefore, we bring a compilation of the most notable phrases about censorship
The most interesting phrases about censorship
These quotes and reflections on censorship help understand all the implications of this way of limiting people’s freedom.
1. The force of public opinion is irresistible when it is allowed to express itself freely. (Thomas Jefferson)
When everyone comes together for a cause, it is difficult for it not to have the fruits it seeks.
2. You have the right to freely express everything that you are allowed to say. (Roger Wolfe)
Freedom also has its responsibility, not harming third parties.
3. Journalism is the most complex web of lies ever invented. (Kurt Tucholsky)
Not all journalism works to inform people about the truth.
4. When someone uses their religion to curtail the rights of other people by calling for hatred, that is not freedom of expression: it is violence… (Daniel Arzola)
Those who use their beliefs to attack others become oppressors.
5. All dictatorships, right and left, practice censorship and use blackmail, intimidation or bribery to control the flow of information. (Mario Vargas Llosa)
Censorship is not exclusive to one sector or another.
6. Every injury, every violation of the creative life of theater is a crime. (Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski)
Theater is a form of expression and as such, it can also become a threat.
7. In countries and times where communication is impeded, all other freedoms soon wither. Discussion dies of starvation, ignorance of others’ opinions becomes rampant, imposed opinions triumph. (Cousin Levi)
Censorship of something becomes a snowball to repress the rest of the freedoms.
8. People demand freedom of speech as compensation for the freedom of thought they rarely used. (Søren Kierkegaard)
Those who are not responsible for their words must abide by their consequences.
9. The democratic health of a country can be measured by evaluating the diversity of opinions, freedom of expression and the critical spirit of its various media. (Mario Vargas Llosa)
Another of the phrases about censorship that talks about the ideal of the country to achieve; A State is free when everyone can be heard.
10. You can censure a friend in confidence, but you must praise him in front of others. (Leonardo da Vinci)
There are corrections that can only be said or made in private.
11. Freedom of expression must find a middle ground between naive universalism and absolute relativism. (Manuel Gameros)
Freedom of expression is not licentiousness or saying everything without having responsibility for it.
12. Humanity progresses. Today he only burns my books; Centuries ago they would have burned me. (Sigmund Freud)
A criticism of the famous book burning in Germany, encouraged by the Nazi regime.
13. Language, the word, is another form of power, one of the many that has been prohibited to us. (Victoria Sau)
Expression is a threat because it can uncover the truth that the powers that be want to hide.
14. What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist. (Salman Rushdie)
Many offenses are subjective, when a message is taken personally.
15. There is a worrying increase in online censorship in governments. (Eric Schmidt)
Now censorship is also on the web, which should be the maximum freedom.
16. By censoring the unconscious and implanting consciousness, the superego also censors the censor, because the developed consciousness registers the forbidden evil act not only in the individual but also in his society. (Herbert Marcuse)
We can also censor ourselves, when we seek to be someone else.
17. Have you seen any censor who is not stupid? (Francisco Franco Bahamonde)
Every repressor has only his power to back him up, without that, he is nothing, and no one.
18. Words of encouragement after censure are like the sun after a downpour. (Johann Wolfgang Goethe)
That is why it is important to surround ourselves with positive people.
19. If they take away our freedom of expression we remain mute and silent and they can lead us like sheep to the slaughterhouse. (George Washington)
We become part of the oppressive current.
20. Freedom of expression is saying what people do not want to hear. (George Orwell)
The truth hurts and is uncomfortable, but that is no reason to keep it quiet.
21. Journalism keeps citizens warned, whores warned, and the government uneasy. (Francisco Umbral)
Journalism should be the primary source of information for people and warning for governments.
22. If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all. (Noam Chomsky)
Freedom should be for everyone, as long as it does not cause irreparable harm to third parties.
23. All censorship is dangerous because it stops the cultural development of a people. (Mercedes Sosa)
It is the best way to make a people remain ignorant.
24. In countries where repression prevails, the writer should not censor himself or give up. (Nadine Gordimer)
It is especially writers and journalists who become enemies of power.
25. Nothing is easier than censuring the dead. (Julius Caesar)
Who cannot defend himself will end up being canceled without mercy.
26. There is only one true misfortune for man: incurring a fault and having cause for censure against himself. (Jean de la Bruyere)
When censorship exists, one’s ideas become an almost certain sentence.
27. The voice has power, people listen when we speak; It is not about fighting terrorism with violence but with words. (Malala Yousafzai)
The attacks always target freedom of expression because this is the best weapon of all for change.
28. Do not write as a journalist, what you cannot sustain as a man. (Francisco Zarco)
Saying something implies a great responsibility for what that message can generate, whether true or false.
29. In times like these we need more freedom of expression, a strong and critical press, and citizens who are not afraid to stand up and say that the emperor has no clothes. (Michael Moore)
The world can only change when we stop fearing the great powers.
30. Freedom of expression carries with it a certain freedom to listen. (Bob Marley)
The big problem with censorship and cancellation is that we refuse to listen to other people’s opinions.
31. I think censorship makes people examine things better. (Mike Dirt)
The more censorship there is, the more the wrong point is established of a power that must go.
32. Secrecy, censorship, lack of honesty and blocking of communication threaten all basic needs. (Abraham Maslow)
If communicating is a right, censorship is a clear violation of freedom.
33. No one can censure or condemn another, because no one knows the other perfectly. (Thomas Browne)
How can we condemn someone for having their own vision of the world?
34. There are few people sane enough to prefer profitable censure to treacherous praise. (François de la Rochefoucauld)
When there are favors or a ‘comfortable’ life for some, repression ceases to be important for others.
35. Thanks to freedom of expression, today it is now possible to say that a ruler is useless without anything happening to us. Neither does the ruler. (Jaume Perich)
Now we just have to remember that our voices are powerful to create change.
36. Journalism is free or it is a farce. (Rodolfo Walsh)
Unfortunately, the powers that be can buy a good image from journalism that should be transparent.
37. In a truly free State, thought and speech must be free. (Suetonius)
There can be no freedom in a people if there is censorship of everything that criticizes their way of acting.
38. If you believe in freedom of speech then you believe in freedom of expression for views you dislike. (Noam Chomsky)
Everyone deserves to express their opinions, even if they are different from yours.
39. Of all the regime changes, the only one that the political speaker really fears is the one that prevents him from speaking. (Albert Guinon)
Politicians come to power because they can give an attractive speech to the people, even if it turns out to be a lie.
40. Men are very strange creatures: half censor what they practice, the other half practice what they censure. (Benjamin Franklin)
A clear result when people believe they are absolutely right.
41. You complain about the censures of your teachers, emulators and adversaries, when you should be grateful for them. His blows do not hurt you; they sculpt you (Santiago Ramón y Cajal)
Difficulties make us stronger, they teach us who we should trust and who we should push away.
42. There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor political, nor popular, but one must take it because it is the correct one. (Martin Luther King Jr.)
Sometimes the right thing to do is to go against an oppressive current, even if it is normalized.
43. There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running around with lit matches. (Ray Bradbury)
One form of repression is the prohibition of reading books, as in the Second World War.
44. The first condition of progress is the elimination of censorship. (George Bernard Shaw)
No society can advance if there is a group that is discriminated against.
45. Whoever wishes to overthrow the freedom of a nation must begin by subduing freedom of expression. (Benjamin Franklin)
There can be no freedom of expression if only the opinion of a single group is heard.
46. Human beings may never be more terrifying than when they are convinced beyond a doubt that they are right. (Sir Laurens Van Der Post)
Those who believe they are right can do the unthinkable to prevent others from being heard.
47. Only oppression should fear the full exercise of freedom. (Jose Marti)
Repression is a way to scare away freedom.
48. When truth is replaced by silence, silence is a lie. (Yevgeny Yevtushenko)
Not only are those who abuse their power oppressors, but also those who decide to remain silent.
49. Censorship reflects a society’s lack of confidence in itself. (Potter Stewart)
Why are we so afraid of opinions different from ours?
50. Let’s be clear: censorship is cowardice… It masks corruption. (Pablo Antonio Cuadra)
It is a form of repression of those who are a threat to power.
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PsychologyFor. (2024). The 50 Best Phrases About Censorship. https://psychologyfor.com/the-50-best-phrases-about-censorship/