Friday, January 9, 2015

"I Do Not Agree With What You Say-"

"-But I Will Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It."

This week, this line seems particularly apt. It's frequently attributed to François-Marie Arouet, a.k.a. Voltaire, one of the founders of the French Enlightenment. As it happens, Voltaire never said it himself; his biographer, Evelyn Beatrice Hall, wrote it as a summation of Voltaire's beliefs.

Either way, I agree with that sentiment; and I loathe those who claim the right to shut people up with violence and threats.

Perhaps it's time we staged a Voltaire-a-thon.

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