---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you never encounter anything in your…"
description: "\"If you never encounter anything in your community that offends you, then you are not living in a free society.\" — Kim Campbell"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/kim-campbell-17510_anarchy_if-you-never-encounter-anything-in-your_3094895.png"
---

#  If you never encounter anything in your community that…

![“If you never encounter anything in your community that offends you, then you are not living in a free society.” quote by Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/kim-campbell-17510_anarchy_if-you-never-encounter-anything-in-your_3094895.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/kim-campbell-17510_anarchy_if-you-never-encounter-anything-in-your_3094895.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/kim-campbell-17510_anarchy_if-you-never-encounter-anything-in-your_3094895.png)

> “If you never encounter anything in your community that offends you, then you are not living in a free society.”

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A free society must allow offensive ideas; lack of offense indicates limited freedom.

**In simple terms:** Freedom includes tolerating offensive speech.

Key Takeaway

Defend open discourse.

Themes

freedom of speech civil liberties societal health

Mood

thoughtful serious hopeful

Type

political philosophical

When to use this quote

- public debate
- media regulation
- educational settings
- community forums

Key Concepts

tolerance pluralism civic responsibility

Questions to Reflect On

- What boundaries should be drawn on offensive speech?
- How do we balance respect and liberty?

A Different Perspective

Offensive content can cause harm or incite violence.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Anarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Community Offends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community-offends-5338129/) [Encounters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encounters/) [Free society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-society/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Offends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offends/) [Offends Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/offends-living-5338130/)

## Related quotes

> [Anyone in a free society where the laws are unjust has an obligation to break the law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/anyone-in-a-free-society-where-the-laws-are-unjust-has-an-obligation/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [Gun control laws don't work. What is worse, they act perversely. While legitimate users of firearms encounter intense regulation, scrutiny and bureaucratic control, illicit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-d-polsby/gun-control-laws-don-t-work-what-is-worse-they-act-perversely-while/)

[Daniel D. Polsby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-d-polsby/)

> [Tabloid stuff just offends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/tabloid-stuff-just-offends/)

[William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/)

> [I can't, myself determine what offends another person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/i-can-t-myself-determine-what-offends-another-person/)

[Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/)

> [Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards because a refusal often offends, I read somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/do-not-meddle-in-the-affairs-of-wizards-because-a-refusal-often/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [If purity offends others, it's THEIR problem not YOUR standards!(:](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel/if-purity-offends-others-it-s-their-problem-not-your-standards/)

[Rachel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel/)

> [We have to get up in the morning and do what's right, and if that offends people then they're just going to have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-anne-tuohy/we-have-to-get-up-in-the-morning-and-do-what-s-right-and-if-that/)

[Leigh Anne Tuohy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-anne-tuohy/)

> [Would movie moguls release a film portraying Adolph Hitler as a great benefactor of the Jews? Hardly. Would they release a movie if the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-wildmon/would-movie-moguls-release-a-film-portraying-adolph-hitler-as-a-great/)

[Donald Wildmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-wildmon/)

> [Sometimes God offends our minds in order to reveal our hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/sometimes-god-offends-our-minds-in-order-to-reveal-our-hearts/)

[John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/)

> [Your career will be a painful one. I divine something in you which offends the vulgar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/your-career-will-be-a-painful-one-i-divine-something-in-you-which/)

[Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/)

> [A gentleman never offends unintentionally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/a-gentleman-never-offends-unintentionally/)

[Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/)

> [It’s just what they are — they’re jokes…most jokes are about Jewish people, rednecks, black folks…I can’t determine what offends another person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deen/it-s-just-what-they-are-they-re-jokes-most-jokes-are-about-jewish/)

[Paula Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deen/)

> [Cable is not bound because people pay for it. It's literally a choice, that's the operative word. If you don't like the language, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/cable-is-not-bound-because-people-pay-for-it-it-s-literally-a-choice/)

[Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/)

> [“To know if someone can speak offensively or politely, don’t give him poem to recite; don’t give him a song to sing. Just engage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/to-know-if-someone-can-speak-offensively-or-politely-don-t-give-him/)

[Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/)

> [Time travel offends our sense of cause and effect - but maybe the universe doesn't insist on cause and effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-m-lerner/time-travel-offends-our-sense-of-cause-and-effect-but-maybe-the/)

[Edward M. Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-m-lerner/)

## More by Kim Campbell

> [Progressive Conservative candidates from Quebec want to exert real power in Ottawa, not simply be content with playing a secondary role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/progressive-conservative-candidates-from-quebec-want-to-exert-real/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [Despite our high rate of unemployment, 300,000 jobs go unfilled largely because many of the unemployed lack the skills needed today as a result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/despite-our-high-rate-of-unemployment-300-000-jobs-go-unfilled/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [Canada is the homeland of equality, justice and tolerance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/canada-is-the-homeland-of-equality-justice-and-tolerance/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [An increasing number of Canadians must juggle the demands of work with the need to care for children, or for family members who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/an-increasing-number-of-canadians-must-juggle-the-demands-of-work/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [Since the end of the Second World War, our population has more than doubled to 27 million people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/since-the-end-of-the-second-world-war-our-population-has-more-than/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [There are certain things in gun control that have a certain public appeal, but when you're legislating you need to look at the research…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/there-are-certain-things-in-gun-control-that-have-a-certain-public/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [There's no evidence that registering guns reduces the level of gun violence. It's not that I don't think it's something worth doing, (but) it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/there-s-no-evidence-that-registering-guns-reduces-the-level-of-gun/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [For people on social assistance, the loss of free dental care, prescription drugs and subsidized housing can greatly outweigh additional income from working. We've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/for-people-on-social-assistance-the-loss-of-free-dental-care/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [For me, unemployment and poverty in the Greater Montreal area is not mainly a problem of structure, or design, or statistics. It is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/for-me-unemployment-and-poverty-in-the-greater-montreal-area-is-not/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [Our first Prime Minister saw a country that would be known for its generosity of spirit. And so it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/our-first-prime-minister-saw-a-country-that-would-be-known-for-its/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [For over 20 years, the federal and provincial governments have made enormous efforts employing a variety of approaches in an attempt to stimulate Montreal's economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/for-over-20-years-the-federal-and-provincial-governments-have-made/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [Religion gets in the way of morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/religion-gets-in-the-way-of-morality/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [It would be naive to imagine we have solved all our income security problems simply because the roles of the federal and provincial governments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/it-would-be-naive-to-imagine-we-have-solved-all-our-income-security/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [We Canadians are not given as a people to great patriotic displays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/we-canadians-are-not-given-as-a-people-to-great-patriotic-displays/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

> [I'd be prouder still to say I was Canada's 10th woman prime minister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/i-d-be-prouder-still-to-say-i-was-canada-s-10th-woman-prime-minister/)

[Kim Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

[Explore all 37 Kim Campbell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/)

## More Anarchy quotes

> [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/)

[Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/)

> [The "health, education, and welfare" section of government is another boondoggle. First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/)

[Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/)

> [The law is the collective organization of the individual's right to lawful defense of his life, liberty and property. When it is used for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-law-is-the-collective-organization-of-the-individual-s-right-to/)

[Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/)

> [So far I'm still standing on 'Sons of Anarchy' but all the rest of the people on the show have me in their crosshairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-pileggi/so-far-i-m-still-standing-on-sons-of-anarchy-but-all-the-rest-of-the/)

[Mitch Pileggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-pileggi/)

> [“Anarchy Evolution: Faith, Science and Bad Religion in a World Without God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/anarchy-evolution-faith-science-and-bad-religion-in-a-world-without/)

[Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/)

> [Perhaps it is this theory of all work and no play that has made the Marxist such a very dull boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/perhaps-it-is-this-theory-of-all-work-and-no-play-that-has-made-the/)

[Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/)

> [Anarchy is the stepping stone to absolute power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/anarchy-is-the-stepping-stone-to-absolute-power/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/)

[Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/)

> [I think that if you run a big company, you've got to, four or five times a year, just say, 'Hey team, look, here's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-immelt/i-think-that-if-you-run-a-big-company-you-ve-got-to-four-or-five/)

[Jeffrey R. Immelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-immelt/)

> [Where you have no religion, you are sure to have no government, for as religion disappears, anarchy takes place and fixes a compleat Hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-morgan/where-you-have-no-religion-you-are-sure-to-have-no-government-for-as/)

[Daniel Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-morgan/)

> [What a comfort it is to feel that amid the chaos and anarchy which sweep the surface, God is holding fast the foundations on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-b-meyer/what-a-comfort-it-is-to-feel-that-amid-the-chaos-and-anarchy-which/)

[F.B. Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-b-meyer/)

> [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [Would you like to do something good for the future of the human race; well, start killing some of its powerful members.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/would-you-like-to-do-something-good-for-the-future-of-the-human-race/)

[William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/)

> [“twenty-three years of RFRAs to produce anarchy,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corvino/twenty-three-years-of-rfras-to-produce-anarchy/)

[John Corvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corvino/)

> [Freedom is that faculty that enlarges the usefulness of all other faculties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/freedom-is-that-faculty-that-enlarges-the-usefulness-of-all-other/)

[Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/)

[Browse all 795 Anarchy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchy/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If you never encounter anything in your community that offends you, then you are not living in a free society.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Kim Campbell"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/if-you-never-encounter-anything-in-your-community-that-offends-you/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Anarchy"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/if-you-never-encounter-anything-in-your-community-that-offends-you/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/kim-campbell-17510_anarchy_if-you-never-encounter-anything-in-your_3094895.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/kim-campbell-17510_anarchy_if-you-never-encounter-anything-in-your_3094895.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f34/kim-campbell-17510_anarchy_if-you-never-encounter-anything-in-your_3094895.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If you never encounter anything in your community that offends you, then you are not living in a free society.” — Kim Campbell",
                "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": "Kim Campbell",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-campbell/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "If you never encounter anything in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/if-you-never-encounter-anything-in-your-community-that-offends-you/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-campbell/if-you-never-encounter-anything-in-your-community-that-offends-you/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
