Osho: "The greatest fear in..."

The greatest fear in the world is of the opinions of others, and the moment you are unafraid of the crowd, you are no longer a sheep. You become a lion. A great roar arises in  your heart. The roar of freedom."

—Osho

Occupied Wall Street: "You can't evict an..."

"You can't evict an idea."

—The Occupied Wall Street Journal Facebook Page

Saul D. Alinsky: "People cannot be free..."

"People cannot be free unless they are willing to sacrifice some of their interests to guarantee the freedom of others."

—Saul D. Alinsky, on democracy as an political system. From Rules for Radicals (p xxv)

Saul D. Alinsky: "Great dangers always accompany..."

"Great dangers always accompany great opportunities. The possibility of destruction is always implicit in the act of creation. Thus, the greatest enemy of individual freedom is the individual himself."

—Saul D. Alinsky, on democracy as an political system. From Rules for Radicals (p xxiv)

James Madison: "Perhaps it is a..."

"Perhaps it is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged against provisions against danger, real or pretended from abroad."

—James Madison

Larry and Andy Wachowski: "Fairness, justice and freedom..."

"Fairness, justice and freedom are more than words — they are perspectives." [Full speech]

—Larry and Andy Wachowski, V in "V for Vendetta"

Larry and Andy Wachowski: "Allow me first to..."

"Allow me first to apologize. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of everyday routines; the security of the familiar; the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration — whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone's death or an end of an awful, bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday — I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.

There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and, for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object — to think and speak as you saw fit — you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity.

How did this happen? Who's to blame? Certainly there are those who are more responsible than others. And they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you. And in your panic, you turned to the now High Chancellor Adam Sutler. He promised you order, he promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.

Last night, I sought to end that silence. Last night, I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than 400 years ago, a great citizen wished to embed the 5th of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words — they are perspectives.

So if you've seen nothing. If the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then I would suggest that you allow the 5th of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight outside the gates of Parliament. And together, we shall give them a 5th of November that shall never, ever be forgot."

—Larry and Andy Wachowski, V in "V for Vendetta"

Robert Shetterly: "The second strong feeling..."

"The second strong feeling --- the first being horror --- I had on September 11 was hope, hope that the United States would use the shock of this tragedy to reassess our economic, environmental, and military strategies in relation to the other countries and peoples of the world. Many people hoped for the same thing --- not to validate terrorism, but to admit that the arrogance and appetite of the U.S., all of us, have created so much bad feeling in many parts of the world that terrorism is inevitable. I no longer feel hopeful. If one looks closely at U.S. foreign policy, the common denominator is energy, oil in particular. The world is running out of oil. Political leadership that had respect for the future of the Earth and a decent concern for the lives of American and non-American people would be leading us away from conflict toward conservation and economic justice, toward alternative energy, toward a plan for the survival of the world that benefits everyone. We see hegemony and greed thinly veiled behind patriotism and security. We get pre-emptive war instead of pre-emptive planning for a sustainable future. The greatness of our country is being tested and will be measured not by its military might but by its restraint, compassion, and wisdom. De Toqueville said, “America is great because it is good. When it ceases to be good, it will cease to be great.” A democracy, whose leaders and media do not try to tell the people the truth, is a democracy in name only. If the consent of voters is gained through fear and lies, America is neither good nor great. Nor is it America."

—Robert Shetterly, AmericansWhoTellTheTruth.org

John F. Kennedy: "In the long history..."

"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility. I welcome it."

—John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address Jan. 20, 1961

Elizabeth Gilbert: "Marriage has a bonsai..."

"Marriage has a bonsai energy: It's a tree in a pot with trimmed roots and clipped limbs. Mind you, bonsai can live for centuries, and their unearthly beauty is a direct result of such constriction, but nobody would ever mistake a bonsai for a free-climbing vine."

—Elizabeth Gilbert, Committed

Lev Grossman: "It seemed to me..."

"'It seemed to me that if we were going to be elevating freedom to the defining principle of what we're about as a culture and a nation, we ought to take a careful look at what freedom in practice brings.' The weird thing about the freedom of Freedom is that what it doesn't bring is happiness..."

—Lev Grossman, from Jonathan Franzen. The Wide Shot, Time Magazine

Lev Grossman: "One of the ways..."

"One of the ways of surrendering freedom is to actually have convictions and a way of further surrendering freedom is to spend quite a bit of time acting on those convictions... There is something beyond freedom that people need: work, love, belief in something, commitment to something. Freedom is not enough. It's necessary, but not sufficient. It's what you do with freedom—what you give it up for—that matters."

—Lev Grossman, from Jonathan Franzen. The Wide Shot, Time Magazine

Audrey Niffenegger: "Chaos is more freedom..."

"Chaos is more freedom; in fact, total freedom.  But no meaning."

—Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler's Wife