Sir Leslie Stephen Quote

"Every man who says frankly and fully
what he thinks is so far doing a public service.
We should be grateful to him for attacking
most unsparingly our most cherished opinions."

by:	Sir Leslie Stephen (1832-1904), literary essayist, author
Source:	The Suppression of Poisonous Opinions, 1883
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Categories:	Honesty, Integrity, Service, Truth
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Excellent! keep them coming - We must learn the art of debate and move away from personal pride and respect each others opinions even though we may emphatically disagree  -- robert, Sarasota      2
Sharing by honest and open dialog is the path to growth of both the individual and of society.  -- Anonymous, Reston, VA US      3
Speaking "frankly and fully" in this age of political correctness is bound to offend someone.  -- jim k, Austin,Tx      4
We have been far too tolerant of far too much. Frankly, the time for debate is over. While we've been debating we have been losing our rights and civil liberties by the truck load. I will no longer give an avowed socialist the time of day as they are an avowed enemy of freedom and liberty.  -- J Carlton, Calgary      4 1
wow, even the uber-liberal of the statist theocracy, posting here regularly, are in accord with those desiring freedom, liberty, law, and individual rights. It is a day of thanks giving. Happy Thanksgiving to all !  -- Mike, Norwalk      1
The one right the left clings to is the right to speak, but they seem to be pretty closed-minded when it comes to other opinions. The right to free speech has become the anchor for the takeover of the mainstream media which now serves as a propaganda machine for programming the masses into submission to the state -- thank goodness for free speech, right? Yeah, sure, free speech as long as it is utopian and altrusitic -- but don't ever call anyone out -- that is 'hate' speech and cannot be tolerated. You must remain calm as they tell you to bend over. You must not make a scene when the chair has been pulled out from underneath you. You may protest, but only politically correct protest signs are permitted. Yes, free speech -- that is unless it is 'offensive.' No, it is not enough to have free speech, we MUST believe and agree with it, too, or else we are bad. The left does not care about free speech, if they did, they would address the opposing ideas and opinions rather than call Tea Partiers 'racists.' So much for hate-free speech. All the left wants is to not only be heard but be OBEYED. Free speech is not a guarantee of acceptance. The real challenge is to learn how to tell the truth instead of repeating the lies we tell ourselves so that we don't have to take responsibility for the condition and quality of our lives...  -- E Archer, NYC      6
Yes the attacks should only help to prove the superiority of true intellect. Unfortunately in these times true intellect is just drowned in a sea of lies.  -- warren, olathe
No offence but.....I don't think there is anything wrong with being respectful and yes PC if that means being non racist, sexist, ageist, etc. Being gratuitously offensive should not form part of any reasoned and reasonable debate. This separates us from other primates. I don't mind having my views and sensibilities offended in this context or my cherished opinions attacked.  -- Joe, Glasgow      1
The spiritual being through and by nature rises far above intellect. It is easy to see those that are carnally minded, and PC correct. I agree with Mike whole heartedly, a time for thanksgiving. The New Creature grows in leaps and bounds with every awakening hour. Breaking the chains of the carnal mind so instilled by socialism and its many dogmas. There is No conflict between Liberty and social justice !  -- Ronw13, Oregon      1
Ron, I really like, "There is No conflict between Liberty and social justice!" What a great question for a liberal: "What conflict do you find between liberty and social justice?" Classic liberals valued liberty of self-expression, sexual freedom, religious freedom -- rights to conscience essentially. The conflicts between liberty and social justice lie with their respective definitions.  -- E Archer, NYC

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