--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only a free West can help the prisoners…" description: "\"Only a free West can help the prisoners of today's left- and right-wing dictatorships.\" — Barbara Amiel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76f/barbara-amiel-21620_dictatorship_only-a-free-west-can-help-the-prisoners_2221230.png" --- # Only a free West can help the prisoners of today's left… ![“Only a free West can help the prisoners of today's left- and right-wing dictatorships.” quote by Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76f/barbara-amiel-21620_dictatorship_only-a-free-west-can-help-the-prisoners_2221230.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76f/barbara-amiel-21620_dictatorship_only-a-free-west-can-help-the-prisoners_2221230.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76f/barbara-amiel-21620_dictatorship_only-a-free-west-can-help-the-prisoners_2221230.png) > “Only a free West can help the prisoners of today's left- and right-wing dictatorships.” [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Only a free Western society can effectively aid those under oppressive regimes. **In simple terms:** Freedom is key to helping oppressed peoples. Key Takeaway Support democratic values to assist the oppressed. Themes freedom politics human rights Mood critical analytical Type political journalistic When to use this quote - policy advocacy - humanitarian work - education programs Key Concepts democracy international aid Questions to Reflect On - How can the West help without imposing? - What alternatives exist? humanitarian? A Different Perspective Western interventions can be perceived as imperialistic. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dictatorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictatorship/) [Dictatorships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictatorships/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Prisoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoner/) [Right wing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-wing/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) ## Related quotes > [When the Iron Curtain fell, all of the West rejoiced that the East would become just as free as the West. It was never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-falkvinge/when-the-iron-curtain-fell-all-of-the-west-rejoiced-that-the-east/) [Rick Falkvinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-falkvinge/) > [Dictatorships do cut down on rape, and pillage, not to mention sexual harassment, by the simple expedient of sending people to labour camps for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/dictatorships-do-cut-down-on-rape-and-pillage-not-to-mention-sexual/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [Every one of the world's dictatorships can and does claim to be acting in the name of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-h-greene/every-one-of-the-world-s-dictatorships-can-and-does-claim-to-be/) [Harold H. Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-h-greene/) > [Dictatorships don't always die when the dictator leaves office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-nasheed/dictatorships-don-t-always-die-when-the-dictator-leaves-office/) [Mohamed Nasheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-nasheed/) > [In our modern age - in the age of free information - I don't think there is any place for dictatorships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rashid-al-ghannushi/in-our-modern-age-in-the-age-of-free-information-i-don-t-think-there/) [Rashid al-Ghannushi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rashid-al-ghannushi/) > [“attained democracy, as brutal dictatorships took over, led to the cynical phrase: "One man, one vote-one time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/attained-democracy-as-brutal-dictatorships-took-over-led-to-the/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The reason that democracies always defeat dictatorships is because they're open to debate. We should never allow Washington to say, 'Shut up, get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-nader/the-reason-that-democracies-always-defeat-dictatorships-is-because/) [Ralph Nader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-nader/) > [I am the product of living in dictatorships. And someone who's lived in dictatorships and not being allowed to be themselves, it cherishes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-heinz/i-am-the-product-of-living-in-dictatorships-and-someone-who-s-lived/) [Teresa Heinz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-heinz/) > [Dictatorships start wars because they need external enemies to exert internal control over their own people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-perle/dictatorships-start-wars-because-they-need-external-enemies-to-exert/) [Richard Perle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-perle/) > [History proves that dictatorships do not grow out of strong and successful governments, but out of weak and helpless ones. If by democratic methods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/history-proves-that-dictatorships-do-not-grow-out-of-strong-and/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [“What naive garbage. People don't want freedom anymore--even those to whom freedom is a kind of religion are afraid of it, like trembling acolytes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-willow-wilson/what-naive-garbage-people-don-t-want-freedom-anymore-even-those-to/) [G. Willow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-willow-wilson/) > [Famine and unemployment are the raw material for dictatorships.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-tsipras/famine-and-unemployment-are-the-raw-material-for-dictatorships/) [Alexis Tsipras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-tsipras/) > [The all but unanimous judgment seems to be that we, the democracies, are just as responsible for the rise of the dictators as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/the-all-but-unanimous-judgment-seems-to-be-that-we-the-democracies/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [All democracies turn into dictatorships - but not by coup. The people give their democracy to a dictator, whether it's Julius Caesar or Napoleon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/all-democracies-turn-into-dictatorships-but-not-by-coup-the-people/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More by Barbara Amiel > [I have got up at truly deplorable hours in the morning to confront Vancouver's Jack Webster on television because I have been told that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/i-have-got-up-at-truly-deplorable-hours-in-the-morning-to-confront/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [When virtue is at liberty, so to some extent is vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/when-virtue-is-at-liberty-so-to-some-extent-is-vice/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [The same liberty that protects me also protects members of the Mafia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/the-same-liberty-that-protects-me-also-protects-members-of-the-mafia/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [Of course the barbarians' aim of world domination has not escaped the attention of the Europeans, perhaps because unlike us they are closer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/of-course-the-barbarians-aim-of-world-domination-has-not-escaped-the/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [By now it is evident that the Soviet Union must gain control of Europe to maintain its empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/by-now-it-is-evident-that-the-soviet-union-must-gain-control-of/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [Among those people lucky enough, if you will, to have actually been brought to trial as a political prisoner, several historians have said there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/among-those-people-lucky-enough-if-you-will-to-have-actually-been/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [Since Europe is dependent on imports of energy and most of its raw materials, it can be subdued, if not quite conquered, without all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/since-europe-is-dependent-on-imports-of-energy-and-most-of-its-raw/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [There are, of course, all sorts of other unpleasant regimes outside the walls as well - the military dictators of Latin America and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/there-are-of-course-all-sorts-of-other-unpleasant-regimes-outside-the/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [I have been lucky enough to have had the opportunity of travelling across this country and enduring all the classic situations that go with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/i-have-been-lucky-enough-to-have-had-the-opportunity-of-travelling/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [The interests of the Soviet Union are in controlling highly developed countries and having the benefit of their economies so that they can run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/the-interests-of-the-soviet-union-are-in-controlling-highly-developed/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [If America was trying to keep the bubonic plague out of its hemisphere, Canadians would import it just to show their independence of American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/if-america-was-trying-to-keep-the-bubonic-plague-out-of-its/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [When faced with the inevitable fatigue that comes with the recycling of speeches and the recycling of thoughts in a rather small stream of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/when-faced-with-the-inevitable-fatigue-that-comes-with-the-recycling/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [Dictatorships do cut down on rape, and pillage, not to mention sexual harassment, by the simple expedient of sending people to labour camps for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/dictatorships-do-cut-down-on-rape-and-pillage-not-to-mention-sexual/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [It is not empty rhetoric to talk of the Free World.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/it-is-not-empty-rhetoric-to-talk-of-the-free-world/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) > [Indeed, we Jews were at the leading edge of communist totalitarianism, one of the most murderous movements of the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/indeed-we-jews-were-at-the-leading-edge-of-communist-totalitarianism/) [Barbara Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) [Explore all 29 Barbara Amiel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/) ## More Dictatorship quotes > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [Dictatorship is rule based directly upon force and unrestricted by any laws. The revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat is rule won and maintained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/dictatorship-is-rule-based-directly-upon-force-and-unrestricted-by/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [I was born in Cuba. At the age of 14 years of age I was involved in a revolution. We were suffering from a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/i-was-born-in-cuba-at-the-age-of-14-years-of-age-i-was-involved-in-a/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [The situation with Tibet has to change. China is one of the last huge dictatorships, holding on to these colonies, provinces. That has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-yauch/the-situation-with-tibet-has-to-change-china-is-one-of-the-last-huge/) [Adam Yauch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-yauch/) > [Motherland is our property and we have right to handle our properties as pleased. The jokes about death for the sake of the motherland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/motherland-is-our-property-and-we-have-right-to-handle-our-properties/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [Your best friends are your principles, if you havent them, dont look for another friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/your-best-friends-are-your-principles-if-you-havent-them-dont-look/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“. Despite the considerable horror they had felt when the SA men were bellowing crude anti-Semitic slogans, in retrospect the joke-tellers were very much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-herzog/despite-the-considerable-horror-they-had-felt-when-the-sa-men-were/) [Rudolph Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-herzog/) > [A strong saying is not afraid of criticism, because it includes all the answers to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-strong-saying-is-not-afraid-of-criticism-because-it-includes-all/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [The dictatorship of the proletariat and the leadership of the Marxist-Leninist party are indispensable conditions for the triumph of the Socialist revolution and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-khrushchev/the-dictatorship-of-the-proletariat-and-the-leadership-of-the-marxist/) [Nikita Khrushchev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-khrushchev/) > [I never thought about becoming a politician. But during the military dictatorship, my grandfather was put in prison six times and my father twice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-papandreou/i-never-thought-about-becoming-a-politician-but-during-the-military/) [George Papandreou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-papandreou/) > [ “\[...\] dictatorship, the most extreme form of tyranny, can never lead to social liberation.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/dictatorship-the-most-extreme-form-of-tyranny-can-never-lead-to/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [In many ways, the media today makes dictatorship impossible. But it also makes democracy intolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shimon-peres/in-many-ways-the-media-today-makes-dictatorship-impossible-but-it/) [Shimon Peres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shimon-peres/) > [“Your law always does more harm than crime, and your morality is a form of violence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bond/your-law-always-does-more-harm-than-crime-and-your-morality-is-a-form/) [Edward Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bond/) > [Something that comes to us, some gym shoe that comes to us as a result of child labor from a brutal dictatorship, where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/something-that-comes-to-us-some-gym-shoe-that-comes-to-us-as-a-result/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) [Browse all 793 Dictatorship quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dictatorship/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only a free West can help the prisoners of today's left- and right-wing dictatorships.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barbara Amiel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/only-a-free-west-can-help-the-prisoners-of-today-s-left-and-right/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dictatorship" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/only-a-free-west-can-help-the-prisoners-of-today-s-left-and-right/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76f/barbara-amiel-21620_dictatorship_only-a-free-west-can-help-the-prisoners_2221230.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76f/barbara-amiel-21620_dictatorship_only-a-free-west-can-help-the-prisoners_2221230.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76f/barbara-amiel-21620_dictatorship_only-a-free-west-can-help-the-prisoners_2221230.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only a free West can help the prisoners of today's left- and right-wing dictatorships.” — Barbara Amiel", "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": "Barbara Amiel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-amiel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only a free West can help...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/only-a-free-west-can-help-the-prisoners-of-today-s-left-and-right/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-amiel/only-a-free-west-can-help-the-prisoners-of-today-s-left-and-right/#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 } } ] } ```