Freedom of Speech and Association

In 1954 journalist Edward R. Murrow phrased a warning to an earlier generation, at a time when politicians thought they (and they alone) knew everything, and branded those who disagreed, "confused" or "immoral."

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty," he said. "We must remember always that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear - one, of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of un-reason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men; Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were - for the moment - unpopular."