do you believe "I may not agree with what you say, but I'll fight to the death your right to say it.?

Question

regardless of race, national origin, gender, sexual preference or religion.

Answer 1

Yes, I vehemently support that statement. Without the right to freedom of speech, no matter how offensive, the great experiment called democracy can never be sustained. As Thomas Paine once quipped (statement paraphrased), “if you deny another man the right to say what is on his mind, then you have immediately precluded your own right to speak freely as well.”

Most ideas that we now take for granted as good and a sign of a healthy and moral society were once unpopular. Had the expression of these ideas been stymied by the censorship of speech, our progress on political, economic, technological, and moral terms would have been halted. Free speech is the linchpin of democracy, and should be defended tooth and nail.

Answer 2

It is the basis to our founding of the United States. It was a rallying cry at a time of tyrannical rule. In fact, European and New World thought at the time was in flux. Social changes, both in Europe and the New World, were happening quickly and the results were, at times, violent and earth-shaking. The expression is attributed to two different French philosophers, Voltaire and Diderot. (see reference below)
It was a time of increased enlightenment in politics, science, and thought. Colonial revolutionaries of the era adapted the sentiment as a founding belief of a new republic, the United States of America. It would later find life in the country of its origin, France,in the French Revolution.
I believe in it today because we live an extremely diverse society where the value of free speech is a right, not a privilege. All peoples should have the right to speak their mind without fear of censorship. This single right is the foundation of any democracy.

Answer 3

That is the essence of free speech and it is as the Founding Fathers intended. When I joined the military some 26 years ago, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. I believe as much in that oath today as the day I took it. I will defend these rights and others like it until my dying day. This does not mean that I have to agree with anything you say, I merely have to support your right to say it.

Answer 4

It was something many Americans felt strongly about in the past.
With the increased involvement of the ACLU, into every aspect of the American way of life, the confusion they have rendered, dying to defend someones rights may require more thought before taking the action.

Answer 5

a.miss I use to believe that to the hilt; but after seeing some comments by some people that call themselves American's here on YA I no longer believe it and I would not fight to the death for their idiotic view points or the right to espouse them to all.

Answer 6

It was a question of freedom and a different time. I believe in freedom. But some of the fanatics out there are better in the ground.

Answer 7

Yes I do, but there's a difference between allowing someone to express their ideas and placing equal validity on some of those more ... outlandish ... ideas as on others.

Answer 8

Absolutely that is a right shared by all and no matter how distasteful the speech may be it is a necessity to have this right offered to all.

Answer 9

Absolutely. That quote is one of the fundamental expressions of what it means to be a citizen of a free country.

Answer 10

You bet I do.
I'm a democrat.
Not a liberal.
Not a socialist.

I believe in free speech (even for republican talk radio);
I believe in free expression (even for Christian fundamentalists);
I believe in equality (even for white men).

Seems simple to me. First and foremost, I'm a patriot, not political bigot.