On the 4th of July, we celebrate the day that we signed that magical piece of paper that declared us free from England. Granted, it would take a while after that to truly be free, but Independence Day was our first major step in the right direction. While many of our rights are currently on the chopping block (my biggest concern will always be 1st Amendment rights, as the right to speak and think freely should always be a given), the 4th of July is still a time to celebrate.

We celebrate Samuel Adams (not the beer, although I guess some do!), the guy who was brave enough to start the Sons of Liberty, the brains behind the Boston Tea Party. We celebrate all the families that were torn apart to allow us to become our own separate country. Plus, we celebrate the fact that, for now, we are still pretty free compared to some places. Or maybe we just do it for the food and fireworks. In any case, the 4th of July is a day for celebrating. In honor of the reason behind it, here are a few of my favorite quotes on freedom, with heavy emphasis on freedom of speech.

Quotes about Freedom in Honor of the 4th of July

I think this first one is one of the most well-known quotes, but it bears constant repeating, especially in this time where we’re so willing to give away our rights just to maybe have a little extra safety. To me, all the safety in the world isn’t worth giving up my fundamental rights as a human being.

4th of July quotes about freedom

This one below is one of my favorites! Pullman wrote it in response to the backlash over The Golden Compass and the His Dark Materials series. I never understood why so many people got up in arms about that series. It was fantastic!

“It was a shocking thing to say and I knew it was a shocking thing to say. But no one has the right to live without being shocked. No one has the right to spend their life without being offended. Nobody has to read this book. Nobody has to pick it up. Nobody has to open it. And if you open it and read it, you don’t have to like it. And if you read it and you dislike it, you don’t have to remain silent about it. You can write to me, you can complain about it, you can write to the publisher, you can write to the papers, you can write your own book. You can do all those things, but there your rights stop. No one has the right to stop me writing this book. No one has the right to stop it being published, or sold, or bought, or read.”
Philip Pullman

4th of July quotes

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