A Quote by John W. Gardner

Americans have always believed that-within the law-all kinds of people should be allowed to take the initiative in all kinds of activities. And out of that pluralism has come virtually all of our creativity. Freedom is real only to the extent that there are diverse alternatives.

John W. Gardner

Quote Topics

Activities All Kinds Allowed Alternatives Always Always Believe Believed Come Creativity Diverse Extent Freedom Initiative Kinds Law Only Our Out People Pluralism Real Should Take Virtually Within

Quote Author

John W. Gardner
American - Educator
October 8, 1912 - February 16, 2002

We both [with Jo Andres] think that it is really important to our culture that we support all kinds of music, all kinds of theatre and all kinds of art because you never know what moves people. We've always believed that there should be a strong voice outside the commercial world. Certainly, the commercial world has a huge place in our culture and we also support that - but, we also want to support the stuff that lives outside of that.

Steve Buscemi

I travel a lot and all different kinds of people come up to me and talk to me about 'The Breakfast Club.' Our audience is very diverse, because we have diverse topics and guests.

Angela Yee

That's why every society on the planet has very definite rules, ideas about how sex should be regulated, how sex should be expressed, what's okay, what's not okay. And I guess we do live in a place, and have for a long time, where there's more openness and there's more willingness to tolerate different kinds of behavior, but with that comes people creating other rules and other kinds of controls. It's always going to be a question of what's acceptable and what isn't and what's the danger point and what rouses people's contempt and what people are allowed to get away with.

Mary Gaitskill

There are various different kinds of conservatives and different kinds of Republicans. We all come from different corners of our party. The key here is not only to unify and merge these approaches, but to also invite everyone else in America to get us focused on our solutions.

Paul Ryan

India belongs to Indians of all kinds. Efforts to undermine this fact will only take our country backwards and destroy our hard-fought freedom. We must not let that happen.

Pinarayi Vijayan

People are always asking me about the '60s, like I should be some sort of expert. It's like being in the middle of a hurricane, you can't describe it till it's over. Creativity was allowed to blossom, we were all allowed this marvelous freedom, there was money to do things.

Rita Tushingham

The practical reason for freedom is that freedom seems to be the only condition under which any kind of substantial moral fiber can be developed - we have tried law, compulsion and authoritarianism of various kinds, and the result is nothing to be proud of.

Albert J. Nock

I have no doubt that if an actual ticking bomb situation were to arise, our law enforcement authorities would torture. The real debate is whether such torture should take place outside of our legal system or within it. The answer to this seems clear: If we are to have torture, it should be authorized by the law.

Alan Dershowitz

I often have discussions with people who demand pluralism and much more. One can discuss these issues, but only within the framework of the law.

Nguyen Minh Triet

Within a social structure, a familial structure, or a cultural structure of various kinds, there is a substitute for actual freedom. I mean, actual freedom is a very abstract notion; we have no idea what it means, except within a context - freedom to do what? So within these social structures, freedom becomes defined as power, your ability to make choices, and the power relationship within a family, any family.

Katherine Dunn

I am interested in the creativity of the criminal attitude because I recognize in it the existence of a special condition of crazy creativity. A creativity without morals fired only by the energy of freedom and the rejection of all codes and laws. For freedom rejects the dictated roles of the law and of the imposed order and for this reason is isolated.

Joseph Beuys

Not so long ago people believed in ideologies, systems, and institutions to save all societies. Today, they have given up such hopes and have returned to relying on the individual, on individual freedom, individual initiative, individual creativity.

Dalai Lama

If language is lost, humanity is lost. If writing is lost, certain kinds of civilization and society are lost, but many other kinds remain - and there is no reason to think that those alternatives are inferior.

Robert Bringhurst

In our greatest universities, naturalism - the doctrine that nature is all there is - is the virtually unquestioned assumption that underlies not only natural science but intellectual work of all kinds.

Philip Johnson

There are all different kinds of ways to define a family, and we have to take that into consideration when practicing family law. The law, they say, is always the last thing to change.