--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After I became a citizen, I felt freer to…" description: "\"After I became a citizen, I felt freer to say what I thought about this country, both negative and positive. I think I had been, consciously and subcon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/529/robert-macneil-25522_biting_after-i-became-a-citizen-i-felt-freer-to_2123625.jpg" --- # After I became a citizen, I felt freer to say what I… ![“After I became a citizen, I felt freer to say what I thought about this country, both negative and positive. I think I had been, consciously and subconsciously, biting my tongue in the past.” quote by Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/529/robert-macneil-25522_biting_after-i-became-a-citizen-i-felt-freer-to_2123625.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/529/robert-macneil-25522_biting_after-i-became-a-citizen-i-felt-freer-to_2123625.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/529/robert-macneil-25522_biting_after-i-became-a-citizen-i-felt-freer-to_2123625.jpg) > “After I became a citizen, I felt freer to say what I thought about this country, both negative and positive. I think I had been, consciously and subconsciously, biting my tongue in the past.” [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gaining citizenship can lift self‑censorship, allowing honest expression of both praise and criticism. **In simple terms:** Citizenship can make you speak more freely. Key Takeaway Speak your truth after becoming a citizen. Themes freedom of speech identity civic engagement Mood reflective empowering Type personal political When to use this quote - public debate - social media commentary - community meetings - personal essays Key Concepts self‑censorship cultural integration political expression Questions to Reflect On - How does citizenship change your willingness to critique? - What risks remain when speaking openly? A Different Perspective Some may still fear backlash despite legal rights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Negative and positive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negative-and-positive/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Patriotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriotism/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [“I have extremely little courage myself, much less than you; but I have found that whenever, after a long struggle, I have screwed my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wittgenstein/i-have-extremely-little-courage-myself-much-less-than-you-but-i-have/) [Wittgenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wittgenstein/) > [How do we escape who we are? I think, going to college, I felt freer. I loved the clean slate. 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K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) ## More by Robert MacNeil > [I'm happy to have my own opinion and air it when I think it's necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/i-m-happy-to-have-my-own-opinion-and-air-it-when-i-think-it-s/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [Also, when I didn't like something, I could keep my opinion to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/also-when-i-didn-t-like-something-i-could-keep-my-opinion-to-myself/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [I grew up in kind of the last generation of Canadians who thought things that were happening in Britain were more important, almost, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/i-grew-up-in-kind-of-the-last-generation-of-canadians-who-thought/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [I think one of the lessons we learn in life - and it's an old lesson, but each of us has to learn it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/i-think-one-of-the-lessons-we-learn-in-life-and-it-s-an-old-lesson/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [“If you love the language, the greatest thing you can do to ensure its survival is not to complain about bad usage but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/if-you-love-the-language-the-greatest-thing-you-can-do-to-ensure-its/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [Wordstruck is exactly what I was—and still am: crazy about the sound of words, the look of words, the taste of words, the feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/wordstruck-is-exactly-what-i-was-and-still-am-crazy-about-the-sound/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [Change is legitimate and inevitable, for our language is a mighty river, picking up silt and flotsam here and discarding it there, but growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/change-is-legitimate-and-inevitable-for-our-language-is-a-mighty/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [We spent a month in Japan last year, a week in Istanbul for the United Nations, and nearly three months in my native Nova…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/we-spent-a-month-in-japan-last-year-a-week-in-istanbul-for-the-united/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [“He always wrote on the flyleaf of each new book the date and where he was, so I can follow him: reading Chesterton just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/he-always-wrote-on-the-flyleaf-of-each-new-book-the-date-and-where-he/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [I am not really retired, and may never be completely, but I can't think of a better place to contemplate retirement than New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/i-am-not-really-retired-and-may-never-be-completely-but-i-can-t-think/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [Words make another place, a place to escape to with your spirit alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/words-make-another-place-a-place-to-escape-to-with-your-spirit-alone/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [“Television is the soma of Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-macneil/television-is-the-soma-of-aldous-huxley-s-brave-new-world/) [Robert MacNeil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-macneil/) > [But, finally, I just realized a few years ago that this is where I belonged. 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