--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everybody has the right to express what…" description: "\"Everybody has the right to express what he thinks. That, of course, lets the crackpots in. But if you cannot tell a crackpot when you see one, then you..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/harry-s-truman-898_courses_everybody-has-the-right-to-express-what_501166.jpg" --- # Everybody has the right to express what he thinks. That… ![“Everybody has the right to express what he thinks. That, of course, lets the crackpots in. But if you cannot tell a crackpot when you see one, then you ought to be taken in.” quote by Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/harry-s-truman-898_courses_everybody-has-the-right-to-express-what_501166.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/harry-s-truman-898_courses_everybody-has-the-right-to-express-what_501166.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/098/harry-s-truman-898_courses_everybody-has-the-right-to-express-what_501166.jpg) > “Everybody has the right to express what he thinks. That, of course, lets the crackpots in. But if you cannot tell a crackpot when you see one, then you ought to be taken in.” [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Freedom of expression invites all voices, including extreme ones, and requires discernment to avoid being misled. **In simple terms:** Free speech brings both ideas and nonsense. Key Takeaway Learn to recognize and question harmful ideas. Themes freedom speech responsibility critical thinking Mood cautious thoughtful Type philosophical political When to use this quote - political debate - online forums - news consumption - education - media analysis Key Concepts democracy media literacy public discourse Questions to Reflect On - How do you evaluate the credibility of a speaker? - What safeguards protect against misinformation? A Different Perspective Distinguishing truth from nonsense can be difficult without proper tools. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Crackpots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crackpots/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [ Here at great expense,' \[Colonel Groves\] moaned to Oppenheimer, 'the government has assembled the world's largest collection of crackpots. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-sheinkin/here-at-great-expense-colonel-groves-moaned-to-oppenheimer-the/) [Steve Sheinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-sheinkin/) > [Listening to liberals invoke the sanctity of "science" to promote their crackpot ideas creates the same uneasy feeling as listening to Bill Clinton cite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/listening-to-liberals-invoke-the-sanctity-of-science-to-promote-their/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [One of the great things about drama is that it makes you feel like you're not a crackpot, and that there are other people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-purefoy/one-of-the-great-things-about-drama-is-that-it-makes-you-feel-like/) [James Purefoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-purefoy/) > [The notion that inventors are anorak-wearing crackpots with glasses held together with Sellotape is beguiling but wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-baylis/the-notion-that-inventors-are-anorak-wearing-crackpots-with-glasses/) [Trevor Baylis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-baylis/) > [Education is a vast sea of lies, waste, corruption, crackpot theorizing, and careerist log-rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-derbyshire/education-is-a-vast-sea-of-lies-waste-corruption-crackpot-theorizing/) [John Derbyshire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-derbyshire/) > [Everybody was strange. In a fit of frustration, she scratched out strange and wrote the word CRACKPOTS in big letters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-cashore/everybody-was-strange-in-a-fit-of-frustration-she-scratched-out/) [Kristin Cashore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-cashore/) > [“Alas, some of those crackpots will only be eliminated by something lethal, such as a firing squad. The best we can do unless you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-williams/alas-some-of-those-crackpots-will-only-be-eliminated-by-something/) [Andrew Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-williams/) > [Whatever their limitations, Freud and Marx developed complex and subtle theories of human nature grounded in their observation of individual and social behavior. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/whatever-their-limitations-freud-and-marx-developed-complex-and/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [Every inventor is a crackpot until his idea succeeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/every-inventor-is-a-crackpot-until-his-idea-succeeds/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Jesus was a crackpot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/jesus-was-a-crackpot/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When I first started out, I was considered a crackpot. 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That applies in every field of human endeavor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/all-will-concede-that-in-order-to-have-good-neighbors-we-must-also-be/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Men often mistake notoriety for fame, and would rather be remarked for their vices and follies than not be noticed at all!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/men-often-mistake-notoriety-for-fame-and-would-rather-be-remarked-for/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [It is ignorance that causes most mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/it-is-ignorance-that-causes-most-mistakes/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [Most of the time most people know the right thing to do ...its the doing of it that gives them trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/most-of-the-time-most-people-know-the-right-thing-to-do-its-the-doing/) [Harry S. 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