We are not to give credit to the many, who say that none ought to be educated but the free; but rather to the philosophers, who say that the well-educated alone are free.Epictetus
A 'human right' is, by definition, timeless. It cannot adhere to some societies and not others, at some times and not at other times.Tom Stoppard
When you try to grasp the way the Western world is going, you see that we are on a ratchet towards a surveillance state, which is coming to include the whole population in its surveillance. This is our reward for accepting the restraints on the way we live now.Tom Stoppard
The idea that anybody might be allowed to use their common sense when clearly no harm is being done is part of history now.Tom Stoppard
It is easily and often overlooked that when Thomas Jefferson asserted that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness were inalienable human rights, he did so on the ground that they had been endowed by God, our Creator.Tom Stoppard
That I have the right to express myself freely at all times in all circumstances entails the idea that free speech is a 'basic human right' possessed by each individual, and, as such, trumps the interests of the society or group, including my neighbour.Tom Stoppard
One doesn't want one's democracy to behave like a dictatorial or fascistic police. One doesn't.Tom Stoppard
What is the society we wish to protect? Is it the society of complete surveillance for the commonwealth? Is this the wealth we seek to have in common - optimal security at the cost of maximal surveillance?Tom Stoppard
