Criticism Of Government Quotes

#1. Seditious libel is the doctrine that flourished in England during and after the Star Chamber. It is the hallmark of closed societies throughout the world. Under it, criticism of government is viewed as defamation and punished as a crime.

Harry Kalven

#2. It is easy for those who conflate religion with government to interpret any criticism of government or policy as an 'attack' on their 'faith'.

Christina Engela

#3. Criticism of government finds sanctuary in several portions of the 1st Amendment. It is part of the right of free speech. It embraces freedom of the press.

Hugo Black

#4. What we see in a democracy governed by "representatives" is not a government "for the people" but an organized conflict of interests that only results in the setting up of unstable balances of power.

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy

#5. Thoughtful criticism and close scrutiny of all government officials by the press and the public are an important part of our democratic society.

Jimmy Carter

#6. Criticism in a time of war is essential to the maintenance of any kind of democratic government.

Robert Taft

#7. A common criticism of establishment journalists entails comparing them to stenographers, on the ground that most of them do little more than mindlessly write down and uncritically repeat what government officials say.

Glenn Greenwald

#8. Honest and earnest criticism from those whose interests are most nearly touched,- criticism of writers by readers, of government by those governed, of leaders by those led, - this is the soul of democracy and the safeguard of modern society

W.E.B. Du Bois

#9. Any government that has a sincere desire for reform and progress should understand the benefit of objective and constructive criticism.

Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa

#10. No American soldier should be allowed to set foot on Iranian soil, regardless of the criticism we have of the Iranian government.

Shirin Ebadi

#11. Not only do we have a right to know, we have a duty to know what our Government is doing in our name. If there's a criticism to be made today, it's that the press isn't doing enough to put the pressure on the government to provide information.

Walter Cronkite

#12. National leaders who find themselves wilting under the withering criticisms by members of the media, would do well not to take such criticism personally but to regard the media as their allies in keeping the government clean and honest, its services.

Corazon Aquino

#13. Democracy acknowledges the right to differ as well as the duty to settle differences peacefully. Authoritarian governments see criticism of their actions and doctrines as a challenge to combat.

Aung San Suu Kyi

#14. Leftists would like to pretend that any criticism of their views raises the specter of domestic repression. But in a country with a First Amendment, no suppression from government is likely, and in the citadels of the media and the academy, the far left is actually vastly overrepresented.

Andrew Sullivan

#15. I totally accept that it's a legitimate criticism that when you are involved in the day-to-day scrum of government ... that what can get lost is the narrative, the hymn sheet ... the song that inspires and lifts people's sights.

Nick Clegg

#16. The most effective check and balance on government has been an independent press which maintains its credibility by ensuring that its criticism is balanced and based on fact - based indeed on solid journalistic work.

Malcolm Turnbull

#17. It was an example of a common phenomenon in American journalism (perhaps in social criticism in general), the shallow focusing on agents or on individuals, thus concealing what a deeper analysis would reveal - the failure of the government itself, indeed, of the political system.

Howard Zinn

#18. Curtailment of free speech is rationalized on grounds that a more compelling American tradition forbids criticism of the government when the nation is at war ... Nothing can be more destructive of our fundamental democratic traditions than the vicious effort to silence dissenters.

Martin Luther King Jr.

#19. Teachers have power. We may cripple them by petty economics; by Government regulations, by the foolish criticism of an uninformed press; but their power exists for good or evil ...

Winifred Holtby

#20. Since separation precludes financial support or special privilege from government, the churches are free to engage in prophetic criticism of the government and to work for social justice.

John M Swomley

#21. Without criticism and reliable and intelligent reporting, the government cannot govern.

Walter Lippmann

#22. He was very good, it turned out, at outlining the flaws in the government as long as someone else was in charge of the government.

David Halberstam

#23. No government should be without critics. If its intentions are good then it has nothing to fear from criticism.

Thomas Jefferson

#24. When I've gotten criticism, it's that it's too long, too soft, didn't hit the government hard enough. Then when I do hit the government, they go, What's he doing hitting the government?

Billy Crystal

#25. It has been said that England invented the phrase, 'Her Majesty's Opposition'; that it was the first government which made a criticism of administration as much a part of the polity as administration itself. This critical opposition is the consequence of cabinet government.

Walter Bagehot

#26. Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.

Winston S. Churchill