“The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry.”
William F. Buckley Jr. (1925–2008) American conservative author and commentator
Windfall : The End of the Affair (1992).
“Let us hope our weapons are never needed — but do not forget what the common people of this nation knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny.”
Context: The tank, the B-52, the fighter-bomber, the state-controlled police and military are the weapons of dictatorship. The rifle is the weapon of democracy. Not for nothing was the revolver called an "equalizer." Egalite implies liberte. And always will. Let us hope our weapons are never needed — but do not forget what the common people of this nation knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights: An armed citizenry is the first defense, the best defense, and the final defense against tyranny.
Abbey's Road (1979)
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American author and essayist 1927–1989Related quotes
Kirby Page (1890–1957) American clergyman
What Does God Want Us to Do About Russia? (1948)
Context: It is impossible to use an atomic bomb here to defend the population of our own city. Likewise we cannot use our bacterial weapons here in our own country. These weapons of annihilation must be used offensively. And against their use no effective defense is possible.
Norman Angell (1872–1967) British politician
Peace and the Public Mind (1935)
Context: Now, please don't misunderstand me. When I point out that all our wars for a thousand years have been fought in other people's countries, I do not mean that any of these wars was necessarily aggressive. They may well have been, everyone of them, defensive. But plainly they were not defensive of soil, territory. Of what then were they defensive? They were defensive of the nation's interests, rights; interests which may well collide with the interests of other nations in any part of the world... Nations do so differ as to what their respective rights are and differ sincerely. And often the question, which of the two is right, is extremely difficult, as anyone who has attempted to disentangle rival territorial claims in the Balkans or elsewhere knows only too well.
Warren Farrell book The Myth of Male Power
Source: The Myth of Male Power (1993), Part III: Government as substitute husband, Chapter 12.
“The aims of life are the best defense against death.”
Primo Levi book The Drowned and the Saved
The Drowned and the Saved (1986)
“The best defense against propaganda: more propaganda.”
Edward Bernays (1891–1995) American public relations consultant, marketing pioneer
Quoted in L. Tye The Father of Spin (1998) p. 102
“Art is not made to decorate rooms. It is an offensive weapon in the defense against the enemy.”
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer
La peinture n'est pas faite pour décorer des appartements. C'est un instrument de guerre offensive et défensive contre l'ennemi.
La pintura no se ha inventado para adornar las habitaciones. La pintura es un arma ofensiva, en la defensa contra el enemigo.
Les lettres françaises (1943-03-24).
Quotes, 1940's
Mao Zedong (1893–1976) Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China
As quoted in Mao's Road to Power: Revolutionary Writings, 1912-49: v. 5: Toward the Second United Front, January 1935-July 1937: Revolutionary Writings, 1912-49 https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=USEvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT861 (2017), p. 861, Routledge.
“Contempt is the weapon of the weak and a defense against one's own despised and unwanted feelings.”
Alice Miller (1923–2010) Swiss psychologist