--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The virtue of a democratic system with a…" description: "\"The virtue of a democratic system with a [constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech] is that it readily enables the people, over time, to be per..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/antonin-scalia-2855_communication_the-virtue-of-a-democratic-system-with-a_737904.png" --- # The virtue of a democratic system with a \[constitutionally… ![“The virtue of a democratic system with a [constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech] is that it readily enables the people, over time, to be persuaded that what they took for granted is not so, and to change their laws accordingly.” quote by Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/antonin-scalia-2855_communication_the-virtue-of-a-democratic-system-with-a_737904.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/antonin-scalia-2855_communication_the-virtue-of-a-democratic-system-with-a_737904.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/antonin-scalia-2855_communication_the-virtue-of-a-democratic-system-with-a_737904.png) > “The virtue of a democratic system with a \[constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech\] is that it readily enables the people, over time, to be persuaded that what they took for granted is not so, and to change their laws accordingly.” [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A democratic system with free speech lets citizens question assumptions and reshape laws over time. **In simple terms:** Free speech lets people rethink and change laws. Key Takeaway Encourage open dialogue to evolve policies. Themes democracy free speech law reform Mood reflective analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - community meetings - legislative hearings Key Concepts constitutional rights public persuasion civic engagement Questions to Reflect On - How does free speech affect lawmaking? - What barriers hinder societal change? A Different Perspective Change can be slow and face entrenched interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Free speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-speech/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Took for granted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/took-for-granted/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [Prior to Roe , ... whether one could obtain a legal abortion in the face of an unwanted pregnancy was a crap shoot. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-garrow/prior-to-roe-whether-one-could-obtain-a-legal-abortion-in-the-face-of/) [David Garrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-garrow/) > [Marriage equality - I think that it's a constitutionally guaranteed right. Let's end the drug wars. Let's balance the federal budget, and that means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-johnson/marriage-equality-i-think-that-it-s-a-constitutionally-guaranteed/) [Gary Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-johnson/) > [Blatant attempts to attack a constitutionally guaranteed right and a law-abiding industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-bishop/blatant-attempts-to-attack-a-constitutionally-guaranteed-right-and-a/) [Rob Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-bishop/) > [Humanity is constitutionally lazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-holland/humanity-is-constitutionally-lazy/) [J. G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [We can constitutionally extirpate slavery at this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dale-owen/we-can-constitutionally-extirpate-slavery-at-this-time/) [Robert Dale Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dale-owen/) > [True knowledge is power; but in order to feel at home with it, we must be constitutionally qualified. And if we are not, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ameen-rihani/true-knowledge-is-power-but-in-order-to-feel-at-home-with-it-we-must/) [Ameen Rihani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ameen-rihani/) > [Americans just want us to... not be concerned if they can be constitutionally justified... Why, if we had to do that we could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-glenn/americans-just-want-us-to-not-be-concerned-if-they-can-be/) [John Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-glenn/) > [“She was constitutionally unable to endure any man being in love with any woman not herself,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/she-was-constitutionally-unable-to-endure-any-man-being-in-love-with-2/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [“The bad parts of the statute are not judicially severable, I consider, from the rest of its provisions that deal with imprisonment. Their roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-didcott/the-bad-parts-of-the-statute-are-not-judicially-severable-i-consider/) John Didcott > [“in a constitutionally ordered state, where laws are derived from broad principles of right and wrong and where those principles are enshrined and protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/in-a-constitutionally-ordered-state-where-laws-are-derived-from-broad/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [Constitutionally I don't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prince-philip/constitutionally-i-don-t-exist/) [Prince Philip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prince-philip/) > [By the Obama administration's reasoning, it would be constitutionally permissible to make Americans purchase nearly any product (broccoli, gym membership) that improved their health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cornyn/by-the-obama-administration-s-reasoning-it-would-be-constitutionally/) [John Cornyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cornyn/) > [I am constitutionally competent to contest the elections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benazir-bhutto/i-am-constitutionally-competent-to-contest-the-elections/) [Benazir Bhutto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benazir-bhutto/) > [Are cans constitutionally iffy? Whenever, that is, we say that we can do something, or could do something, or could have done something, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-l-austin/are-cans-constitutionally-iffy-whenever-that-is-we-say-that-we-can-do/) [J. L. Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-l-austin/) > [It is your business to rise up and preserve the Union and liberty, for yourselves, and not for me. I desire they shall be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/it-is-your-business-to-rise-up-and-preserve-the-union-and-liberty-for/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) ## More by Antonin Scalia > [What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you'd like it to mean?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/what-is-a-moderate-interpretation-of-the-text-halfway-between-what-it/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [If you think aficionados of a living Constitution want to bring you flexibility, think again. You think the death penalty is a good idea?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/if-you-think-aficionados-of-a-living-constitution-want-to-bring-you/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [More importantly, the Court forgets that ours is a government of laws and not of men. That means we are governed by the terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/more-importantly-the-court-forgets-that-ours-is-a-government-of-laws/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Wringing your hands about states' rights, forget it. They're gone. Basically, the federal government can do whatever it wants. Who's going to protect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/wringing-your-hands-about-states-rights-forget-it-they-re-gone/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [If you condemn someone who has committed a crime to be tortured, that would be unconstitutional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/if-you-condemn-someone-who-has-committed-a-crime-to-be-tortured-that/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Burning the flag is a form of expression. Speech doesn't just mean written words or oral words. It could be semaphore. And burning a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/burning-the-flag-is-a-form-of-expression-speech-doesn-t-just-mean/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Being a good person begins with being a wise person. Then, when you follow your conscience, will you be headed in the right direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/being-a-good-person-begins-with-being-a-wise-person-then-when-you/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [The court's job is to uphold the Constitution and you don't call that off in times of crisis. Would the framers have allowed this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/the-court-s-job-is-to-uphold-the-constitution-and-you-don-t-call-that/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [We have laws against torture. The Constitution says nothing whatever about torture. It speaks of punishment; 'cruel and unusual' punishments are forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/we-have-laws-against-torture-the-constitution-says-nothing-whatever/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [If I have brought any message today, it is this: Have the courage to have your wisdom regarded as stupidity. Be fools for Christ.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/if-i-have-brought-any-message-today-it-is-this-have-the-courage-to/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Many think it not only inevitable but entirely proper that liberty give way to security in times of national crisis--that, at the extremes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/many-think-it-not-only-inevitable-but-entirely-proper-that-liberty/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [That's the argument of flexibility and it goes something like this: The Constitution is over 200 years old and societies change. It has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/that-s-the-argument-of-flexibility-and-it-goes-something-like-this/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [Why in the world would you have it interpreted by nine lawyers?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/why-in-the-world-would-you-have-it-interpreted-by-nine-lawyers/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [ Who ever thought that intimacy and spirituality \[whatever that means\] were freedoms? And if intimacy is, one would think Freedom of Intimacy is abridged… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/who-ever-thought-that-intimacy-and-spirituality-whatever-that-means/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) > [I'm nervous about our civic culture. I'm not sure the Internet is largely the cause of it. It's certainly the cause of careless writing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/i-m-nervous-about-our-civic-culture-i-m-not-sure-the-internet-is/) [Antonin Scalia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) [Explore all 146 Antonin Scalia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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The bad poet harangues at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/a-poet-is-wounded-into-speech-and-he-examines-these-wounds/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [“To engage in dialogue is to serve others via whatever is real inside you; to engage in debate is to ultimately serve the illusions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oli-anderson/to-engage-in-dialogue-is-to-serve-others-via-whatever-is-real-inside/) [Oli Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oli-anderson/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [In dialogue, there is opposition, yes, but no head-on collision. Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The virtue of a democratic system with a [constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech] is that it readily enables the people, over time, to be persuaded that what they took for granted is not so, and to change their laws accordingly.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Antonin Scalia" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/the-virtue-of-a-democratic-system-with-a-constitutionally-guaranteed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/the-virtue-of-a-democratic-system-with-a-constitutionally-guaranteed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/antonin-scalia-2855_communication_the-virtue-of-a-democratic-system-with-a_737904.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/antonin-scalia-2855_communication_the-virtue-of-a-democratic-system-with-a_737904.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd6/antonin-scalia-2855_communication_the-virtue-of-a-democratic-system-with-a_737904.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The virtue of a democratic system with a [constitutionally guaranteed right to free speech] is that it…” — Antonin Scalia", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Antonin Scalia", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonin-scalia/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The virtue of a democratic system...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/the-virtue-of-a-democratic-system-with-a-constitutionally-guaranteed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonin-scalia/the-virtue-of-a-democratic-system-with-a-constitutionally-guaranteed/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```