--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What good is a Bill of Rights that does…" description: "\"What good is a Bill of Rights that does not include the right to play, to wander, to explore, the right to stillness and solitude, to discovery and phy..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/edward-abbey-254_bill-of-rights_what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does_640759.png" --- # What good is a Bill of Rights that does not include the… ![“What good is a Bill of Rights that does not include the right to play, to wander, to explore, the right to stillness and solitude, to discovery and physical freedom?” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/edward-abbey-254_bill-of-rights_what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does_640759.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/edward-abbey-254_bill-of-rights_what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does_640759.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/edward-abbey-254_bill-of-rights_what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does_640759.png) > “What good is a Bill of Rights that does not include the right to play, to wander, to explore, the right to stillness and solitude, to discovery and physical freedom?” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom includes the ability to explore, be still, and move physically without restriction. **In simple terms:** Play and solitude are essential rights. Key Takeaway Protect spaces for recreation and contemplation. Themes freedom exploration solitude Mood thoughtful advocacy Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - urban planning - education - personal growth Key Concepts civil liberties well‑being Questions to Reflect On - What public spaces could be reclaimed for play? - How does solitude enhance creativity? A Different Perspective Societal constraints can limit access. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bill of rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bill-of-rights/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Rights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rights/) [Solitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitude/) [Stillness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stillness/) ## Related quotes > [The Bill of Rights does not come from the people and is not subject to change by majorities. It comes from the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/the-bill-of-rights-does-not-come-from-the-people-and-is-not-subject/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [“eh, there's trouble i' this world, and there's things as we can niver make out the rights on. And all we've got to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/eh-there-s-trouble-i-this-world-and-there-s-things-as-we-can-niver/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The modern state no longer has anything but rights; it does not recognize duties any more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bernanos/the-modern-state-no-longer-has-anything-but-rights-it-does-not/) [Georges Bernanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bernanos/) > [I decided to write 'True Refuge' during a major dive in my own health. Diagnosed with a genetic disease that affected my mobility, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/i-decided-to-write-true-refuge-during-a-major-dive-in-my-own-health/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Young Egyptians, gazing through the windows of the Internet, have gained a keener sense than many of their elders of the freedoms and opportunities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/young-egyptians-gazing-through-the-windows-of-the-internet-have/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [“Psychological imprisonment was no less uncomfortable than its physical counterpart. In some ways, it was even worse; it provided the illusion of physical freedom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nenia-campbell/psychological-imprisonment-was-no-less-uncomfortable-than-its/) [Nenia Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nenia-campbell/) > [... non-use of rights does not destroy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/non-use-of-rights-does-not-destroy-them/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Let us hope our weapons are never needed -but do not forget what the common people knew when they demanded the Bill of Rights:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/let-us-hope-our-weapons-are-never-needed-but-do-not-forget-what-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Let us hope our weapons are never needed - but do not forget what the common people of this nation knew when they demanded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/let-us-hope-our-weapons-are-never-needed-but-do-not-forget-what-the-2/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again and the world of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/i-wait-now-the-night-flows-back-the-mighty-stillness-embraces-and/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Our suicidal poets (Plath, Berryman, Lowell, Jarrell, et al.) spent too much of their lives inside rooms and classrooms when they should have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-suicidal-poets-plath-berryman-lowell-jarrell-et-al-spent-too-much/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." -George Mason - Father of the Bill of Rights”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-goodwin/to-disarm-the-people-is-the-best-and-most-effectual-way-to-enslave/) [Mark Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-goodwin/) > [“manager’s bill of rights,” those basic things that you have a right to expect from your employees. Responsible employees: Are responsive to feedback Keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-andersen/manager-s-bill-of-rights-those-basic-things-that-you-have-a-right-to/) [Erika Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-andersen/) > [“I have a recurring fantasy that one more article has been added to the Bill of Rights: the right to free access to imagination.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/i-have-a-recurring-fantasy-that-one-more-article-has-been-added-to/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/some-of-the-folks-on-both-sides-might-be-sincere-but-it-does-seem-as/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Bill of rights quotes > [Some of the folks on both sides might be sincere, but it does seem as if it is only the opposition that cares about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-bovard/some-of-the-folks-on-both-sides-might-be-sincere-but-it-does-seem-as/) [James Bovard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-bovard/) > [“I have a recurring fantasy that one more article has been added to the Bill of Rights: the right to free access to imagination.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/i-have-a-recurring-fantasy-that-one-more-article-has-been-added-to/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [“manager’s bill of rights,” those basic things that you have a right to expect from your employees. Responsible employees: Are responsive to feedback Keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erika-andersen/manager-s-bill-of-rights-those-basic-things-that-you-have-a-right-to/) [Erika Andersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erika-andersen/) > [“To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." -George Mason - Father of the Bill of Rights”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-goodwin/to-disarm-the-people-is-the-best-and-most-effectual-way-to-enslave/) [Mark Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-goodwin/) > [A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-bill-of-rights-is-what-the-people-are-entitled-to-against-every/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The average citizen expresses pride in the American Bill of Rights and then seeks to protect his real estate by restrictive covenants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-allen-overstreet/the-average-citizen-expresses-pride-in-the-american-bill-of-rights/) [Harry Allen Overstreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-allen-overstreet/) > [“Among those liberties which we in this UNION claim for the child, due to him as a person, is freedom of thought, the function…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parents-national-education-union/among-those-liberties-which-we-in-this-union-claim-for-the-child-due/) [Parents' National Education Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parents-national-education-union/) > [To be patriotic is to be able to question government policy in times of crisis. To be patriotic is to stand up for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sami-al-arian/to-be-patriotic-is-to-be-able-to-question-government-policy-in-times/) [Sami Al-Arian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sami-al-arian/) > [Everybody now seems to be talking about democracy. I don't understand this. As I think of it, democracy isn't like a Sunday suit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-trumbo/everybody-now-seems-to-be-talking-about-democracy-i-don-t-understand/) [Dalton Trumbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-trumbo/) > [We have a list of human rights - right to food, right to shelter, right to health, right to education, many such items which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/we-have-a-list-of-human-rights-right-to-food-right-to-shelter-right/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are to achieve our destiny, then we need more new ideas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-this-nation-is-to-be-wise-as-well-as-strong-if-we-are-to-achieve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“In the first movement, our infancy as a species, we felt no separation from the natural world around us. Trees, rocks, and plants surrounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-macy/in-the-first-movement-our-infancy-as-a-species-we-felt-no-separation/) [Joanna Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-macy/) > [To take a single step beyond the boundaries specially drawn around the powers of Congress is to take possession of a boundless field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/to-take-a-single-step-beyond-the-boundaries-specially-drawn-around/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Bill of Rights was Madison, I'm going with Madison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/bill-of-rights-was-madison-i-m-going-with-madison/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [The notion that Americans can be protected from "terror" by giving up the Bill of Rights is absurd. Democrats are complicit in this absurd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-notion-that-americans-can-be-protected-from-terror-by-giving-up/) [Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/) [Browse all 294 Bill of rights quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bill-of-rights/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What good is a Bill of Rights that does not include the right to play, to wander, to explore, the right to stillness and solitude, to discovery and physical freedom?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Abbey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does-not-include-the-right-to-play/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bill of rights" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does-not-include-the-right-to-play/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/edward-abbey-254_bill-of-rights_what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does_640759.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/edward-abbey-254_bill-of-rights_what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does_640759.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa3/edward-abbey-254_bill-of-rights_what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does_640759.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What good is a Bill of Rights that does not include the right to play, to wander, to explore, the right to…” — Edward Abbey", "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": "Edward Abbey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What good is a Bill of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does-not-include-the-right-to-play/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-good-is-a-bill-of-rights-that-does-not-include-the-right-to-play/#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 } } ] } ```