--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without freedom of expression, good taste…" description: "\"Without freedom of expression, good taste means nothing.\" — Neil Young" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/neil-young-969_expression_without-freedom-of-expression-good-taste_2240020.jpg" --- # Without freedom of expression, good taste means nothing. ![“Without freedom of expression, good taste means nothing.” quote by Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/neil-young-969_expression_without-freedom-of-expression-good-taste_2240020.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/neil-young-969_expression_without-freedom-of-expression-good-taste_2240020.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/neil-young-969_expression_without-freedom-of-expression-good-taste_2240020.jpg) > “Without freedom of expression, good taste means nothing.” [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Without free speech, aesthetic judgments lose meaning. **In simple terms:** Expression is essential for taste. Key Takeaway Defend free expression. Themes freedom art culture Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - media criticism - art reviews - public debate - education - politics Key Concepts speech rights subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - How does limited speech affect art? - Can taste exist without dialogue? A Different Perspective Censorship can still shape taste. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom of expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-expression/) [Good taste](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-taste/) ## Related quotes > [In San Francisco, vulgarity, "bad taste," ostentation are regarded as a kind of alien blight, an invasion or encroachment from outside. In Los Angeles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-kael/in-san-francisco-vulgarity-bad-taste-ostentation-are-regarded-as-a/) [Pauline Kael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-kael/) > [“Expression is as good as sophistication”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/expression-is-as-good-as-sophistication/) Anyaele Sam Chiyson > [It's one of the things I really admire about Sly - we were all allowed to use our creativity, to have freedom of expression…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-graham/it-s-one-of-the-things-i-really-admire-about-sly-we-were-all-allowed/) [Larry Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-graham/) > [People should be respected for the strength of their convictions, and I also believe in freedom of expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-should-be-respected-for-the-strength-of-their-convictions-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Poverty brings people to drastic measures and that's what the hardcore gangsta rap scene is about. It's called freedom of expression. People should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bushwick-bill/poverty-brings-people-to-drastic-measures-and-that-s-what-the/) [Bushwick Bill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bushwick-bill/) > [Freedom of expression is essential for feminists and dissidents in the Muslim world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deeyah-khan/freedom-of-expression-is-essential-for-feminists-and-dissidents-in/) [Deeyah Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deeyah-khan/) > [I will follow anyone... and invite everyone... too unite and defend the freedom of expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/widad-akrawi/i-will-follow-anyone-and-invite-everyone-too-unite-and-defend-the/) [Widad Akrawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/widad-akrawi/) > [Every religion has its dignity ... in freedom of expression there are limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/every-religion-has-its-dignity-in-freedom-of-expression-there-are/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [I believe in the freedom of expression, unequivocally - though, as I have written before, I wish more people would understand that freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-believe-in-the-freedom-of-expression-unequivocally-though-as-i-have/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [People who think of children's nudity as a tool don't need freedom of expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-chan/people-who-think-of-children-s-nudity-as-a-tool-don-t-need-freedom-of/) Agnes Chan > [All over the world, there is someone sitting in a cell because he or she is not allowed freedom of expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kani/all-over-the-world-there-is-someone-sitting-in-a-cell-because-he-or/) [John Kani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kani/) > [We thought the church had withdrawn from interfering in Italian politics... but instead there is a terrible resurgence. These are ugly signs for freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-fo/we-thought-the-church-had-withdrawn-from-interfering-in-italian/) [Dario Fo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dario-fo/) > [Any test that turns on what is offensive to the community's standards is too loose, too capricious, too destructive of freedom of expression to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-o-douglas/any-test-that-turns-on-what-is-offensive-to-the-community-s-standards/) [William O. Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-o-douglas/) > [Well, one thing, you got to stand in a courtroom and listen to a judge sentencing you to 25 years in prison before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/well-one-thing-you-got-to-stand-in-a-courtroom-and-listen-to-a-judge/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our own spontaneous expression with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/great-works-of-art-have-no-more-affecting-lesson-for-us-than-this/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Neil Young > [A lot of people that buy vinyl today don’t realise that they’re listening to CD masters on vinyl and that’s because the record companies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/a-lot-of-people-that-buy-vinyl-today-don-t-realise-that-they-re/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Let's roll for justice, let's roll for truth. Let's not let our children grow up fearful in their youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/let-s-roll-for-justice-let-s-roll-for-truth-let-s-not-let-our/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Don't feel like Satan, but I am to them. And I try to forgive them anyway I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/don-t-feel-like-satan-but-i-am-to-them-and-i-try-to-forgive-them/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [I never knew a man could tell so many lies, he had a different story for every set of eyes. How can he remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/i-never-knew-a-man-could-tell-so-many-lies-he-had-a-different-story/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/it-s-the-woman-in-you-that-makes-you-want-to-play-this-game/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Keep it moving. Don't hoard. Money's no good, get rid of it. Turn it into people doing things. Turn it into jobs. Turn it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/keep-it-moving-don-t-hoard-money-s-no-good-get-rid-of-it-turn-it-into/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [My dad passed away...and suddenly I found myself at the top of the tree and looking at the sky instead of at my mom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/my-dad-passed-away-and-suddenly-i-found-myself-at-the-top-of-the-tree/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [The Arabic states have to be integrated into the Iraqi reconstruction. We need the help of the Arabic community, which understands its culture. Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/the-arabic-states-have-to-be-integrated-into-the-iraqi-reconstruction/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Said the condor to the preying mantis, we're gonna lose this place just like we lost Atlantis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/said-the-condor-to-the-preying-mantis-we-re-gonna-lose-this-place/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [With Crazy Horse, it's all one big, growing, smoldering sound, and I'm part of it. It's like gliding, or some sort of natural surfing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/with-crazy-horse-it-s-all-one-big-growing-smoldering-sound-and-i-m/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [It doesn't mean that much to me to mean that much to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/it-doesn-t-mean-that-much-to-me-to-mean-that-much-to-you/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Cocaine eyes won't hide your face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/cocaine-eyes-won-t-hide-your-face/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Now I'm livin' out here on the beach, but those seagulls are still out of reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/now-i-m-livin-out-here-on-the-beach-but-those-seagulls-are-still-out/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [I've always been better moving than I am standing still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/i-ve-always-been-better-moving-than-i-am-standing-still/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Don't think. The worst songs I've ever written happen when I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/don-t-think-the-worst-songs-i-ve-ever-written-happen-when-i-think/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) [Explore all 317 Neil Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) ## More Expression quotes > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [Instead of asking a girl how she feels, try looking through her recently listened to songs. The lyrics are the answer to all your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-asking-a-girl-how-she-feels-try-looking-through-her/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The concept of humanity is an especially useful ideological instrument of imperialist expansion, and in its ethical-humanitarian form it is a specific vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/the-concept-of-humanity-is-an-especially-useful-ideological/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Our fashion for us, it's an expression; first of all of life, I put all of myself in my fashion. Sometimes it's good, sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefano-gabbana/our-fashion-for-us-it-s-an-expression-first-of-all-of-life-i-put-all/) [Stefano Gabbana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefano-gabbana/) > [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [Early experience shapes the structure and function of the brain. This reveals the fundamental way in which gene expression is determined by experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-j-siegel/early-experience-shapes-the-structure-and-function-of-the-brain-this/) [Daniel J. Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-j-siegel/) > [Singing has always seemed to me the most perfect means of expression. It is so spontaneous. And after singing, I think the violin. Since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/singing-has-always-seemed-to-me-the-most-perfect-means-of-expression/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [Every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/every-genuine-expression-of-love-grows-out-of-a-consistent-and-total/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Nick looked vaguely homicidal, but that was sort of his default expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/nick-looked-vaguely-homicidal-but-that-was-sort-of-his-default/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [They are the gateway for our modern esthetic development, the prophets of the new time. They are most of all, the primitives of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/they-are-the-gateway-for-our-modern-esthetic-development-the-prophets/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [The mountain receives our expressions and becomes part of us; we imprint our memories upon it and trust it with out dearest divisions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-barcott/the-mountain-receives-our-expressions-and-becomes-part-of-us-we/) [Bruce Barcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-barcott/) > [In science, the most exciting expression isn’t ‘Eureka!’ It’s ‘Huh?’](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hawley/in-science-the-most-exciting-expression-isn-t-eureka-it-s-huh/) Michael Hawley > [A commitment to lifelong learning is a natural expression of the practice of living consciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-branden/a-commitment-to-lifelong-learning-is-a-natural-expression-of-the/) [Nathaniel Branden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-branden/) [Browse all 5,024 Expression quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Without freedom of expression, good taste means nothing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Young" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/without-freedom-of-expression-good-taste-means-nothing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Expression" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/without-freedom-of-expression-good-taste-means-nothing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/neil-young-969_expression_without-freedom-of-expression-good-taste_2240020.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/neil-young-969_expression_without-freedom-of-expression-good-taste_2240020.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/efe/neil-young-969_expression_without-freedom-of-expression-good-taste_2240020.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Without freedom of expression, good taste means nothing.” — Neil Young", "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": "Neil Young", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Without freedom of expression, good taste...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/without-freedom-of-expression-good-taste-means-nothing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/without-freedom-of-expression-good-taste-means-nothing/#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 } } ] } ```