--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If we ban whatever offends any group in…" description: "\"If we ban whatever offends any group in our diverse society, we will soon have no art, no culture, no humor, no satire. Satire is by its nature offensi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/erica-jong-445_art_if-we-ban-whatever-offends-any-group-in_3200842.jpg" --- # If we ban whatever offends any group in our diverse… ![“If we ban whatever offends any group in our diverse society, we will soon have no art, no culture, no humor, no satire. Satire is by its nature offensive. So is much art and political discourse. The value of these expressions far outweighs their risk.” quote by Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/erica-jong-445_art_if-we-ban-whatever-offends-any-group-in_3200842.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/erica-jong-445_art_if-we-ban-whatever-offends-any-group-in_3200842.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a5/erica-jong-445_art_if-we-ban-whatever-offends-any-group-in_3200842.jpg) > “If we ban whatever offends any group in our diverse society, we will soon have no art, no culture, no humor, no satire. Satire is by its nature offensive. So is much art and political discourse. The value of these expressions far outweighs their risk.” [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Censoring offensive content threatens artistic freedom, as satire and many art forms rely on provocation to challenge norms. **In simple terms:** Censorship harms art and satire. Key Takeaway Protect free expression even when it offends. Themes freedom of speech art satire Mood thoughtful defensive Type philosophical political When to use this quote - media regulation - public debate - creative industries Key Concepts censorship cultural resilience Questions to Reflect On - What limits should be placed on offensive art? - How can society value both sensitivity and creativity? A Different Perspective Balancing respect for groups with artistic liberty is complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Discourse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discourse/) [Diverse society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diverse-society/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political discourse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-discourse/) [Risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/risk/) [Satire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satire/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [There is something about seeing real people on a stage that makes a bad play more intimately, more personally offensive than any other art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/there-is-something-about-seeing-real-people-on-a-stage-that-makes-a/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [We have entered a period of intolerance which combines, as it sometimes does in America, with a sugary taste for euphemism. 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Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-a-smith/) > [Any suggestion that the most open and diverse society on the planet is likely to in any way resemble Russia requires a suspension of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/any-suggestion-that-the-most-open-and-diverse-society-on-the-planet/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [For me, I want to see diversity in storytelling sources because we live in a very diverse society, and the stories are for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/for-me-i-want-to-see-diversity-in-storytelling-sources-because-we/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) ## More by Erica Jong > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Will you ever? I dont think you will ever fully understand how you've touched my life and made me who I am.I don't think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/will-you-ever-i-dont-think-you-will-ever-fully-understand-how-you-ve/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Give advice to your children while they're young enough to believe you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/give-advice-to-your-children-while-they-re-young-enough-to-believe/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Perhaps all artists were, in a sense, housewives: tenders of the earth household.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/perhaps-all-artists-were-in-a-sense-housewives-tenders-of-the-earth/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I have lived my life according to this principle: If I'm afraid of it, then I must do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/i-have-lived-my-life-according-to-this-principle-if-i-m-afraid-of-it/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [I thought to spend my declining years writing poetry and teaching - but that won't pay the Bergdorf's bill. 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Poets write straight from the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/critics-write-out-of-intellectual-exercise-not-poets-poets-write/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [Once I worshipped Keats for dying young. Now I think it's braver to die old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/once-i-worshipped-keats-for-dying-young-now-i-think-it-s-braver-to/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) [Explore all 542 Erica Jong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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