Voltaire
Born 1694, lived until 1778.
30 Philosophers, Chapter 26: Voltaire and Modern Journalism.
Voltaire was a French Enlightenment philosopher born François-Marie Arouet. He was an advocate of civil liberties and satirized intolerance, and religious dogma in a time one was punished with censorship, jail, banishment, or worse.
Some of my favorite Voltaire quotes translated from French:
- Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.
- Opinion has caused more trouble on this little earth than plagues or earthquakes.
- In the case of news, we should always wait for the sacrament of confirmation.
And now, a premium bonus.
Free societies need people who can publicly challenge rulers, institutions, and accepted ideas without fear of censorship.
Subject: Freedom of the Press.
Voltaire showed the power of the written word against authority. A free press gives criticism somewhere to live. It allows mistakes, abuses, hypocrisy, and falsehoods to be exposed in public rather than whispered in private. Liberty needs more than good rulers. It needs people free to question them. As you walk your journey, support the press and protesting even for “the other side.”
was first published on TST 5 years ago.
