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“Liberty is not threatened only by force, but also by neglect. Rights erode quietly when institutions fail to protect them consistently. Freedom survives through vigilance, not assumption.”

Last update Sept. 26, 2026. History

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“The evil of totalitarianism is not only that it fails to protect specific liberties but that it extinguishes the very possibility of freedom.”

John Gray (1948) British philosopher

'Isaiah Berlin: The Value of Decency' (p.104)
Gray's Anatomy: Selected Writings (2009)

“Like other human freedoms, the freedoms embodied in market institutions are justified inasmuch as they meet human needs. Insofar as they fail to do this they can reasonably be altered. This is true not only of the rights that are involved in market institutions. It is true of all human rights.”

John Gray (1948) British philosopher

'Modus Vivendi' (p.36)
Gray's Anatomy: Selected Writings (2009)

“The growth of entrepreneurial classes throughout the world is an asset in the promotion of human rights and individual liberty, and it should be understood and used as such. Yet peace is the first and most important condition for continued prosperity and freedom. America's military power must be secure because the United States is the only guarantor of global peace and stability. The current neglect of America's armed forces threatens its ability to maintain peace.”

Condoleezza Rice (1954) American Republican politician; U.S. Secretary of State; political scientist

Foreign Affairs http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20000101faessay5-p20/condoleezza-rice/campaign-2000-promoting-the-national-interest.html, January/February 2000.

“Civilized people everywhere have recognized that terrorists threaten every nation that loves liberty and cherishes the protection of individual rights. Respect for human dignity and individual freedoms reaffirms a core tenet of civilized people everywhere.”

George W. Bush Proclamation 7513

Proclamation 7513 (December 2001)
2000s, 2001

“In a democracy, where electors grant license to elected representatives to violate the oath of office; and continually reelect them, freedoms and liberties progressively erode for all.”

Gandolfo – (RJ Intindola)

2017

“Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant.”

Desmond Tutu (1931) South African churchman, politician, archbishop, Nobel Prize winner

Hope and Suffering: Sermons and Speeches (1984)

“Legislation is introduced by Parliament, but we should remember that all our advances, freedom and liberties are due to men and women who, when their conscience compelled them, have been prepared to defy the law. If legislation is introduced which erodes our basic freedom and democracy or threatens our right to combine, we should oppose it with the same vigour and determination of our forefathers. I believe it will be necessary to use all measures, including industrial action, to defy Tebbit's law and defend our movement.”

Arthur Scargill (1938) British trade unionist

Speech in Yorkshire (15 March 1982), quoted in Paul Routledge, "Scargill urges strike against Tebbit Bill", The Times (16 March 1982), p. 2

“You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free.”

Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union

Address to the court in People v. Lloyd (1920)

“Liberty is only valued when it is threatened, therefore it is the threat that highlights the value.”

David Gemmell book Legend

Source: Drenai series, Legend, Pt 1: Against the Horde, Ch. 9
Context: Liberty is only valued when it is threatened, therefore it is the threat that highlights the value. We should be grateful to the Nadir, since they heighten the value of our liberty.

“Things like freedom and liberty and constitutional protection and unalienable rights that are beyond the scope of government. Those type of things are the only things that will help us deal with some of the division in our country.”

Jody Hice (1960) Georgia Republican Congressman

Congressman Jody Hice: Religious Liberty and Good Business are Benefits of Republican Majority https://merionwest.com/2018/03/29/congressman-jody-hice-religious-liberty-and-good-business-are-benefits-of-republican-majority/ (29 March 2018)

“Liberty is not threatened only by force, but also by neglect. Rights erode quietly when institutions fail to protect them consistently. Freedom survives through vigilance, not assumption.”

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