--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My feeling is that the Supreme Court…" description: "\"My feeling is that the Supreme Court reached a reasonable standard of protection of speech in the 1960s, a standard higher than any other country in th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_my-feeling-is-that-the-supreme-court-rea_1965582.jpg" --- # My feeling is that the Supreme Court reached a reasonable… ![“My feeling is that the Supreme Court reached a reasonable standard of protection of speech in the 1960s, a standard higher than any other country in the world, to my knowledge. In brief, speech should be protected up to participation in imminent criminal action.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_my-feeling-is-that-the-supreme-court-rea_1965582.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_my-feeling-is-that-the-supreme-court-rea_1965582.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ed/noam-chomsky-42_1960s_my-feeling-is-that-the-supreme-court-rea_1965582.jpg) > “My feeling is that the Supreme Court reached a reasonable standard of protection of speech in the 1960s, a standard higher than any other country in the world, to my knowledge. In brief, speech should be protected up to participation in imminent criminal action.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that U.S. free speech protections are among the strongest globally, but should exclude incitement to imminent crime. **In simple terms:** U.S. speech rights are high but not absolute. Key Takeaway Support robust speech rights, limit incitement. Themes free speech legal standards civil liberties government policy Mood critical analytical Type philosophical legal When to use this quote - political debate - media commentary - legal analysis - education - policy drafting Key Concepts constitutional law speech regulation democratic theory public safety Questions to Reflect On - When does speech become a threat? - How should societies balance safety and expression? A Different Perspective Defining “imminent criminal action” can be subjective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Participation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participation/) [Protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protection/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Supreme court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/supreme-court/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“In many respects, the United States is a great country. Freedom of speech is protected more than in any other country. It is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-many-respects-the-united-states-is-a-great-country-freedom-of/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you and I go into a store to rob it, and I say "shoot," that's not protected. Like all judicial decisions and legislation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-and-i-go-into-a-store-to-rob-it-and-i-say-shoot-that-s-not/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In many respects, the United States is a great country. Freedom of speech is protected more than in any other country. It is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-many-respects-the-united-states-is-a-great-country-freedom-of-2/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In the US the problem has been, for instance, that Nazis have rights of free expression, right? But other kinds of racist speech is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-butler/in-the-us-the-problem-has-been-for-instance-that-nazis-have-rights-of/) [Judith Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-butler/) > [“First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-m-kennedy/first-amendment-freedoms-are-most-in-danger-when-the-government-seeks-2/) Anthony M. Kennedy > [Speech is protected in the U.S., and at the risk of repeating a hackneyed aphorism, free speech is worthless unless it applies to offensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macdonald/speech-is-protected-in-the-u-s-and-at-the-risk-of-repeating-a/) [Neil Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macdonald/) > [I believe in freedom of speech. And I believe that spending on political campaigns is a form of political speech that is protected under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/i-believe-in-freedom-of-speech-and-i-believe-that-spending-on/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [Politically popular speech has always been protected: even the Jews were free to say ‘Heil Hitler.’](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/politically-popular-speech-has-always-been-protected-even-the-jews/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [First Amendment freedoms are most in danger when the government seeks to control thought or to justify its laws for that impermissible end. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kennedy/first-amendment-freedoms-are-most-in-danger-when-the-government-seeks/) [Anthony Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kennedy/) > [As South Korea shows, active participation in international trade does not require free trade. Indeed, had South Korea pursued free trade and not promoted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ha-joon-chang/as-south-korea-shows-active-participation-in-international-trade-does/) [Ha-Joon Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ha-joon-chang/) > [During the 1960s, large groups of people who are normally passive and apathetic began to try to enter the political arena to press their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/during-the-1960s-large-groups-of-people-who-are-normally-passive-and/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It's kind of interesting and sick that the intellectual culture called the 1960s, "time of troubles," a dangerous period in which a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-kind-of-interesting-and-sick-that-the-intellectual-culture/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In the late 1960s, the masses were supposed to be passive, not entering into the public arena and having their voices heard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/in-the-late-1960s-the-masses-were-supposed-to-be-passive-not-entering/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Take the US. Women were not even able to vote until 90 ago, at about the same time they gained the right in Afghanistan.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/take-the-us-women-were-not-even-able-to-vote-until-90-ago-at-about/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It was right after Woodrow Wilson's first serious post-World War I repression, which deported thousands of people, effectively destroyed unions and independent press, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-was-right-after-woodrow-wilson-s-first-serious-post-world-war-i/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More 1960s quotes > [We do need different types of propulsion to get to Mars. I wrote one of the first Ph.D. theses on that in the 1960s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-do-need-different-types-of-propulsion-to-get-to-mars-i-wrote-one/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Each year more than 100,000 high school graduates, with proved ability, do not enter college because they cannot afford it. And if we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/each-year-more-than-100-000-high-school-graduates-with-proved-ability/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [Nearly all the writing of our time is likely to disappear in a hundred years. Certainly most readers - and nearly all critics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/nearly-all-the-writing-of-our-time-is-likely-to-disappear-in-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [ \[In the 1960s\]...you could take LSD but you couldn't wear a pantsuit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsey-johnson/in-the-1960s-you-could-take-lsd-but-you-couldn-t-wear-a-pantsuit/) [Betsey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsey-johnson/) > [Is it a coincidence that stories from the private life became more popular just as the grand hope for public redemption through revolution was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/is-it-a-coincidence-that-stories-from-the-private-life-became-more/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [I think the general anxiety of the 1960s - '70s spawned our interest in the living dead. When people worry about the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-the-general-anxiety-of-the-1960s-70s-spawned-our-interest-in/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“A friend once told me a story about a former Black Panther leader in a Midwest community who in the 1960s had his phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-j-rodr-guez/a-friend-once-told-me-a-story-about-a-former-black-panther-leader-in/) [Luis J. Rodríguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-j-rodr-guez/) > [I was never bothered about my position in the industry. If I had believed in it, I wouldn't have allowed anyone to get ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharmendra/i-was-never-bothered-about-my-position-in-the-industry-if-i-had/) [Dharmendra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dharmendra/) > [Under the system that we now have to nominate presidential candidates, for instance, I would prefer that we have a system that is closer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-beschloss/under-the-system-that-we-now-have-to-nominate-presidential-candidates/) [Michael Beschloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-beschloss/) > [My son Bill, who came to me in 1960-he was 14 then, quoted the old parable to me: "It is not by their words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/my-son-bill-who-came-to-me-in-1960-he-was-14-then-quoted-the-old/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [There is a book called San Francisco Tape Music Centre:1960s Counterculture and the Avant-Garde and this book describes everything that you want to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/there-is-a-book-called-san-francisco-tape-music-centre-1960s/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Much of the art of the 1960s, from body art to video and direct performance, was concerned with similar issues. And then there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valie-export/much-of-the-art-of-the-1960s-from-body-art-to-video-and-direct/) [Valie Export](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valie-export/) > [I went through college in the 1960s without having any idea that I was going to have to make a living. When I graduated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-prose/i-went-through-college-in-the-1960s-without-having-any-idea-that-i/) [Francine Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-prose/) > [“At the beginning of a decade when everything was beginning to seem possible, nothing seemed impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-lee-shetterly/at-the-beginning-of-a-decade-when-everything-was-beginning-to-seem/) [Margot Lee Shetterly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-lee-shetterly/) Browse all 486 1960s quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My feeling is that the Supreme Court reached a reasonable standard of protection of speech in the 1960s, a standard higher than any other country in the world, to my knowledge. 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