Robert A. Heinlein Quote - Liberty Quotes Blog

"Of all the so-called natural human rights that have ever been invented,
liberty is least likely to be cheap and is never free of cost."

by:	Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) American writer
Source:	Starship Troopers, 1959
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Categories:	Civil Rights, Freedom, Individual Rights, Liberty, Responsibility
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Reader comments about this quote:

-- Anonymous
-- jim k, Austin
I know, right?! For a natural human right, we sure do have to work for it! We may have the right to be independent, but no one can give it to us. That's Natural Law for you! -- E Archer, NYC
Spoken like a good catholic, always in doubt of their own liberty ? The cost of Apeleutheros Liberty ? BLOOD. !! Shed once and the reminder ever present before all humanity. Once saved, always saved, bears responsibility of maintenance. Our conscience bears witness to the ever present oracle, with a divine response of utterance, it Bridges the gaps of denominational religious dogma. Independent thought and responsible action, makes for good neighbors. Yet Heilein stands in doubt. to much fiction, not enough reality ! -- Ronw13, Yachats Or
"Of all the so-called natural human rights" ? What ? - so-called ? ? "that have ever been invented" ? What ? The here set up premise makes what ever follows to be a make believe fairytale. Under such premise, liberty is an expensive phantasm. -- Mike, Norwalk 1
Mike, ;-) Semantically, you are correct. But have we not invented the very words we call 'rights'? How do we know what our 'so-called' rights are? Do I have rights because Adams and Jefferson say so? Or Jesus, Moses, or Buddha? When I declare my rights, am I not taking a stand? Do I have rights if I do not exercise them? Conceptually, we have all the rights we are born with, but in practice, we only have the rights we can exercise -- everything else has already been claimed. We have to negotiate for the rest or fight. ;-) And the ultimate right of all, Liberty, can hardly be passed down from one to another since Liberty will always require a perpetual effort to defend. Does not the 'nature of the world' demand that we actively stand, rather than passively sit, else we dare end up as prey? I can surely attest to the high cost of freedom, my friend, as I know very well, you can too! -- E Archer, NYC

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