--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there's one American belief I hold…" description: "\"“If there's one American belief I hold above all others, it's that those who would set themselves up in judgment on matters of what is \"right\" and what..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/stephen-king-13_banned-books_if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-ab_2544972.jpg" --- # If there's one American belief I hold above all others… ![“If there's one American belief I hold above all others, it's that those who would set themselves up in judgment on matters of what is "right" and what is "best" should be given no rest; that they should have to defend their behavior most stringently. ... As a nation, we've been through too many…” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/stephen-king-13_banned-books_if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-ab_2544972.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/stephen-king-13_banned-books_if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-ab_2544972.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/stephen-king-13_banned-books_if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-ab_2544972.jpg) > ““If there's one American belief I hold above all others, it's that those who would set themselves up in judgment on matters of what is "right" and what is "best" should be given no rest; that they should have to defend their behavior most stringently. ... As a nation, we've been through too many fights to preserve our rights of free thought to let them go just because some prude with a highlighter doesn't approve of them." \[ Bangor Daily News , Guest Column of March 20, 1992\]”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns against allowing moral arbiters to suppress free thought; it champions defending rights even when faced with prudish criticism. **In simple terms:** Defend free thought against judgmental moralists. Key Takeaway Stand firm for free thought. Themes freedom judgment rights Mood defiant critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - political debate - academic discourse - media criticism - personal expression Key Concepts civil liberties moral authority censorship Questions to Reflect On - Who are the moral arbiters you encounter? - How do you balance respect with free thought? A Different Perspective Overly rigid defense can become reactionary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Banned books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banned-books/) [Censorship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censorship/) [Daily news](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daily-news/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Free thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-thought/) [Freedom of speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-speech/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) ## Related quotes > [If there's one American belief I hold above all others, it's that those who would set themselves up in judgment on matters of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-above-all-others-it-s-that/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Fear is giving away your energy and power to a thought or belief you hold to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fear-is-giving-away-your-energy-and-power-to-a-thought-or-belief-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every belief that you hold manifests itself in some manner by either causing you to take some form of action or by preventing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-prentiss/every-belief-that-you-hold-manifests-itself-in-some-manner-by-either/) [Chris Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-prentiss/) > [“Censorship and the suppression of reading materials are rarely about family values and almost always about control; About who is snapping the whip, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/censorship-and-the-suppression-of-reading-materials-are-rarely-about/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [No one contends that the other Amendments that preserve rights of 'the people' -the First, Fourth, Ninth and Tenth-do not preserve individuals' rights. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-babbin/no-one-contends-that-the-other-amendments-that-preserve-rights-of-the/) Jed Babbin > [For most cosmologists, a supernatural God is an unnecessary hypothesis. For most Americans, He is an unassailable fact. The American belief machine apparently has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sloan/for-most-cosmologists-a-supernatural-god-is-an-unnecessary-hypothesis/) [Gary Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sloan/) > [Here is my advice as we begin the century that will lead to 2081. First, guard the freedom of ideas at all costs. Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-k-o-neill/here-is-my-advice-as-we-begin-the-century-that-will-lead-to-2081/) [Gerard K. O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-k-o-neill/) > [Don't regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve the rights of people you disagree with...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-k-o-neill/don-t-regard-yourself-as-a-guardian-of-freedom-unless-you-respect-and/) [Gerard K. O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-k-o-neill/) > [... the major rule in the American belief system - that anyone can do anything ... is a lie that we have perpetuated, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-j-ryan/the-major-rule-in-the-american-belief-system-that-anyone-can-do/) [M. J. Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-j-ryan/) > [You have to have wisdom and knowledge as well as virtue to preserve your rights and liberties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/you-have-to-have-wisdom-and-knowledge-as-well-as-virtue-to-preserve/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [Four Americans, four patriots, they loved this country and they chose to serve it, and served it well. They had a mission and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/four-americans-four-patriots-they-loved-this-country-and-they-chose/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The American belief machine apparently has a fail-safe component. Nothing shuts it down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-sloan/the-american-belief-machine-apparently-has-a-fail-safe-component/) [Gary Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-sloan/) > [We can't be so fixated on our desire to preserve the rights of ordinary Americans...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-can-t-be-so-fixated-on-our-desire-to-preserve-the-rights-of/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [To have a free, peaceful and prosperous world we must be ever stronger particularly in the spiritual things…It is American belief in decency and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/to-have-a-free-peaceful-and-prosperous-world-we-must-be-ever-stronger/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [“The rights we have as free individuals is the right to choose as we please.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-redhead/the-rights-we-have-as-free-individuals-is-the-right-to-choose-as-we/) [steven redhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-redhead/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Banned books quotes > [“Censors don’t want children exposed to ideas different from their own. If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/censors-don-t-want-children-exposed-to-ideas-different-from-their-own/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/censorship-is-the-child-of-fear-and-the-father-of-ignorance/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [“Well, the man who first translated the bible into English was burned at the stake, and they've been at it ever since. Must be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/well-the-man-who-first-translated-the-bible-into-english-was-burned/) [Phyllis Reynolds Naylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-reynolds-naylor/) > [“When the Viennese government compiled a Catalogue of Forbidden Books in 1765, so many Austrians used it as a reading guide that the Hapsburg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-nelson/when-the-viennese-government-compiled-a-catalogue-of-forbidden-books/) Craig Nelson > [“I'm not, like, a book guy, but isn't the point of all this book stuff like what Ms. Croft was teaching us -- that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-connis/i-m-not-like-a-book-guy-but-isn-t-the-point-of-all-this-book-stuff/) David Connis > [“The choices you have for your children are not the same as mine. For me, there is no such thing as a banned book.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-ellie-mackenzie/the-choices-you-have-for-your-children-are-not-the-same-as-mine-for/) [Sara Ellie MacKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-ellie-mackenzie/) > [“Censorship and the suppression of reading materials are rarely about family values and almost always about control; About who is snapping the whip, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/censorship-and-the-suppression-of-reading-materials-are-rarely-about/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“He would tell you to think, next time, before you blindly chase your ideology. He would ask you to think, not just to feel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanna-m-white/he-would-tell-you-to-think-next-time-before-you-blindly-chase-your/) [Roseanna M. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanna-m-white/) > [“Like water leaking slowly through a dike to become a steady trickle or a flood, words and ideas inexorably elude the censor's grasp. (Banned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bald/like-water-leaking-slowly-through-a-dike-to-become-a-steady-trickle/) Margaret Bald > [The book which most deserved to be banned would be a catalog of banned books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/the-book-which-most-deserved-to-be-banned-would-be-a-catalog-of/) [Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/) > [“Let’s get one thing out of the way: Mexican immigration is an oxymoron. Mexicans are indigenous. So, in a strange way, I’m pleased that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/let-s-get-one-thing-out-of-the-way-mexican-immigration-is-an-oxymoron/) [Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/) > [There's more than one way to be a girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-faust/there-s-more-than-one-way-to-be-a-girl/) [Lauren Faust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-faust/) > [ Young minds - young brains - need stories and ideas like the ones in those \[censored and banned\] books in order to grow. They… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/young-minds-young-brains-need-stories-and-ideas-like-the-ones-in/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“Yes. They're bringing in books from all over the world and burning them here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-suke-natsukawa/yes-they-re-bringing-in-books-from-all-over-the-world-and-burning/) Sōsuke Natsukawa > [“Everybody has the right to form their own opinion and read what they like and come to their own conclusion about it... I trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/everybody-has-the-right-to-form-their-own-opinion-and-read-what-they/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) [Browse all 56 Banned books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/banned-books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If there's one American belief I hold above all others, it's that those who would set themselves up in judgment on matters of what is \"right\" and what is \"best\" should be given no rest; that they should have to defend their behavior most stringently. ... As a nation, we've been through too many fights to preserve our rights of free thought to let them go just because some prude with a highlighter doesn't approve of them.\" [ Bangor Daily News , Guest Column of March 20, 1992]”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-above-all-others-it-s-that-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Banned books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-above-all-others-it-s-that-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/stephen-king-13_banned-books_if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-ab_2544972.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/stephen-king-13_banned-books_if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-ab_2544972.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/stephen-king-13_banned-books_if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-ab_2544972.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If there's one American belief I hold above all others, it's that those who would set themselves up in…” — Stephen King", "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": "Stephen King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If there's one American belief I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-above-all-others-it-s-that-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/if-there-s-one-american-belief-i-hold-above-all-others-it-s-that-2/#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 } } ] } ```