--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The civil liberties types who are…" description: "\"The civil liberties types who are fighting this issue have to fight it, owing to the nature of the laws, as a matter of freedom of speech and stifling ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/tom-lehrer-3442_book_the-civil-liberties-types-who-are-fighti_1898598.jpg" --- # The civil liberties types who are fighting this issue have… ![“The civil liberties types who are fighting this issue have to fight it, owing to the nature of the laws, as a matter of freedom of speech and stifling of free expression and so on. But we know what's really involved, dirty books are fun. That's all there is to it. But you can't get up in a court…” quote by Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/tom-lehrer-3442_book_the-civil-liberties-types-who-are-fighti_1898598.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/tom-lehrer-3442_book_the-civil-liberties-types-who-are-fighti_1898598.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c4/tom-lehrer-3442_book_the-civil-liberties-types-who-are-fighti_1898598.jpg) > “The civil liberties types who are fighting this issue have to fight it, owing to the nature of the laws, as a matter of freedom of speech and stifling of free expression and so on. But we know what's really involved, dirty books are fun. That's all there is to it. But you can't get up in a court and say that.” [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Free speech is vital, yet legal constraints and societal norms often limit expression, creating tension between liberty and regulation. **In simple terms:** Free speech faces legal and social limits. Key Takeaway Balance liberty with responsibility. Themes freedom speech law Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - journalism - academic research - political activism - online platforms Key Concepts censorship civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - When should speech be restricted? - How do we protect both freedom and safety? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on liberty can ignore harmful impacts of speech. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Civil liberties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-liberties/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Court](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/court/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Free expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-expression/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom of speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-speech/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) ## Related quotes > [There is something servile in the habit of seeking after a law which we may obey. 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Because if so, count me in!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mclean/so-what-s-this-about-a-book-club-you-girls-sit-around-reading-dirty/) [Jay McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mclean/) > [... censorship often boils down to some male judges getting to read a lot of dirty books--with one hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-morgan/censorship-often-boils-down-to-some-male-judges-getting-to-read-a-lot/) [Robin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-morgan/) > [“In the midst of this hormonal gloom, however, the calvary finally arrives, over the hill, jangling its spurs, and epaulettes shining in the sun:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/in-the-midst-of-this-hormonal-gloom-however-the-calvary-finally/) [Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/) > [“For six months, then, Emma, at fifteen years of age, made her hands dirty with books from old lending libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/for-six-months-then-emma-at-fifteen-years-of-age-made-her-hands-dirty/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“Rather than dirt, I’d rather push a wheelbarrow full of books. Dirty books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/rather-than-dirt-i-d-rather-push-a-wheelbarrow-full-of-books-dirty/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I like a new clean book, freshly bound, particularly when I am the first to read it. 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People…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/science-is-the-only-truth-and-it-is-the-great-lie-it-knows-nothing/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [ The young man \[Turgot\] destined for an ecclesiastical career was placed within walls carefully designed to keep out all currents of new thought; his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dickson-white/the-young-man-turgot-destined-for-an-ecclesiastical-career-was-placed/) [Andrew Dickson White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-dickson-white/) ## More by Tom Lehrer > [Plagiarize, plagiarize, / Let no man's work evade your eyes, / Remember why the good Lord made your eyes, / Don't shade your eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/plagiarize-plagiarize-let-no-man-s-work-evade-your-eyes-remember-why/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I ache for the touch of your lips dear, but much more for the touch of your whips dear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-ache-for-the-touch-of-your-lips-dear-but-much-more-for-the-touch-of/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [When someone makes a move Of which we don't approve, Who is it that always intervenes? 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Unless you get a good percentage of her price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-solicit-for-your-sister-it-s-not-nice-unless-you-get-a-good/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [It is a sobering thought that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for two years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/it-is-a-sobering-thought-that-when-mozart-was-my-age-he-had-been-dead/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [“I am never forget the day I first meet the great Lobachevsky. In one word he told me secret of success in mathematics: Plagiarize!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-am-never-forget-the-day-i-first-meet-the-great-lobachevsky-in-one/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Counting in octal is just likst counting in decimal--if you don't use your thumbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/counting-in-octal-is-just-likst-counting-in-decimal-if-you-don-t-use/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Disclaimer: If anyone disagrees with anything I say, I am quite prepared to not only retract it, but also to deny under oath I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/disclaimer-if-anyone-disagrees-with-anything-i-say-i-am-quite/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Don't write naughty words on the wall if you can't spell!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/don-t-write-naughty-words-on-the-wall-if-you-can-t-spell/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I don't want to satirise George Bush and his puppeteers, I want to vaporise them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/i-don-t-want-to-satirise-george-bush-and-his-puppeteers-i-want-to/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [San Francisco is a city of twenty-something millionaire white kids named Doug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/san-francisco-is-a-city-of-twenty-something-millionaire-white-kids/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [On Christmas day you can't get sore, Your fellow man you must adore, There's time to cheat him all the more The other three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/on-christmas-day-you-can-t-get-sore-your-fellow-man-you-must-adore/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [Be prepared, and be careful not to do your good deeds when there's no one watching you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/be-prepared-and-be-careful-not-to-do-your-good-deeds-when-there-s-no/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [There's something mathematically satisfying about music: notes fit together and harmony and all that. And mathematics has to do with abstractions and making connections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/there-s-something-mathematically-satisfying-about-music-notes-fit/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) [Explore all 130 Tom Lehrer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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