Learned Hand (1872-1961) American jurist

I believe that that community is already in process of dissolution where each man begins to eye his neighbor as a possible enemy, where non-conformity with the accepted creed, political as well as religious, is a mark of disaffection; where denunciation, without specification or backing, takes the place of evidence; where orthodoxy chokes freedom of dissent; where faith in the eventual supremacy of rason has become so timid that weare not enter our convictions into the open lis, to win or lose. Such fears as these are a solvent which can eat out the cement that binds the stones together; they may in the end subject us to a despotism as evil as any that we dread; and they can be allayed only in so far as we refuse to proceed on suspicion, and trust one another until we have tangible ground for misgiving,

¶ "A Plea for the Open Mind and Free Discussion," Address to University of the State of New York (24 Oct 1952)

Post a comment

We welcome your help in making WIST even better. If you have a correction, addition, (alternate) source/citation for a quotation, etc., please post it below. (Please, however, don't use this as a forum for discussing your thoughts about the quotation itself.)

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.hill-kleerup.org/blog/mt4/080510t.cgi/22255

About WIST

WIST is my collection of quotations I find meaningful, moving, amusing (intended or not), well-phrased, and/or to which I just say I "Wish I'd Said That." But just because I quote it here doesn't mean I actually agree with it. If you have any comments, corrections, or suggestions, please don't hesitate to

More about WIST


Quotes by Author

Browse through authors:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Others    Sig Lines

All Authors (search authors)

WIST Front Page


WIST Info

WIST Front Page

Administrivia
WIST History
Looking for quotes
Looking for citations

The WIST Store

My Blog
My Blog (about WIST)



Amazon Honor System Click Here to Pay Learn More

Creative Commons License
This weblog is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Powered by
Movable Type 4.01