Bans Quote by Noam Chomsky
“Take any country that has laws against hate crimes, inspiring hatred and genocide and so on. The first thing they would do is ban the Old Testament. There's nothing like it in the literary canon that exalts genocide, to that extent. And it's not a joke either. Like where I live, New England, the people who liberated it from the native scourge were religious fundamentalist lunatics, who came waving the holy book, declaring themselves to be the children of Israel who are killing the Amalekites, like God told them.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: Lecture “Freedom of Speech and Hate Law”, 2018
Banning religious texts to prevent hate overlooks that literature can contain violent narratives, and suppression may conflict with free speech principles.
In simple terms: Banning books isn’t the solution to hate.
Key Takeaway
Protect free expression, address hate through education.
Themes
free speech
hate
literature
ethics
Mood
critical
concerned
analytical
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- school curricula
- public policy debates
- media literacy programs
- community dialogues
Key Concepts
censorship
moral responsibility
Questions to Reflect On
- What alternative ways can societies curb hate without censorship?
- How can education address extremist interpretations?
A Different Perspective
Suppression may drive ideas underground, making them harder to counter.
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