The court is really the keeper of the conscience, and the conscience is the Constitution. William O. Douglas More Quotes by William O. Douglas More Quotes From William O. Douglas Effective self-government cannot succeed unless the people are immersed in a steady, robust, unimpeded, and uncensored flow of opinion and reporting which are continuously subjected to critique, rebuttal, and reexamination. William O. Douglas government self people The day should come when all of the forms of life... will stand before the court - the pileated woodpecker as well as the coyote and bear, the lemmings as well as the trout in the streams. William O. Douglas woodpeckers lemmings animal I realized that Eastern thought had somewhat more compassion for all living things. Man was a form of life that in another reincarnation might possibly be a horsefly or a bird of paradise or a deer. So a man of such a faith, looking at animals, might be looking at old friends or ancestors. In the East the wilderness has no evil connotation; it is thought of as an expression of the unity and harmony of the universe. William O. Douglas compassion animal men Why cannot we work at cooperative schemes and search for the common ground binding all mankind together? William O. Douglas schemes together common One who comes to the Court must come to adore, not to protest. That's the new gloss on the First Amendment. William O. Douglas amendments court history World federation is an ideal that will not die. More and more people are coming to realize that peace must be more than an interlude if we are to survive; that peace is a produce of law and order; that law is essential if the force of arms is not to rule the world. William O. Douglas law order people Motion pictures are of course a different medium of expression than the public speech, the radio, the stage, the novel, or the magazine. But the First Amendment draws no distinction between the various methods of communicating ideas. William O. Douglas different expression ideas Literature should not be suppressed merely because it offends the moral code of the censor. William O. Douglas censorship moral literature I've often thought that if planners were botanists, zoologists, geologists, and people who know about the earth, we would have much more wisdom in such planning than we have when we leave it to the engineers. William O. Douglas city-planning zoologist people This freedom of movement is the very essence of our free society, setting us apart. Like the right of assembly and the right of association, it often makes all other rights meaningful-knowing, studying, arguing, exploring, conversing, observing and even thinking. Once the right to travel is curtailed, all other rights suffer, just as when curfew or home detention is placed on a person. William O. Douglas home meaningful thinking I hope to be remembered as someone who made the earth a little more beautiful. William O. Douglas earth littles beautiful One aspect of modern life which has gone far to stifle men is the rapid growth of tremendous corporations. Enormous spiritual sacrifices are made in the transformation of shopkeepers into employees... The disappearance of free enterprise has led to a submergence of the individual in the impersonal corporation in much the same manner as he has been submerged in the state in other lands. William O. Douglas sacrifice spiritual men Freedom of movement is the very essence of our free society -- once the right to travel is curtailed, all other rights suffer. William O. Douglas government essence rights The struggle is always between the individual and his sacred right to express himself and the power structure that seeks conformity, suppression, and obedience. William O. Douglas sacred power struggle At the constitutional level where we work, 90 percent of any decision is emotional. The rational part of us supplies the reasons for supporting our predilections. William O. Douglas emotional decision thinking We who have the final word can speak softly or angrily. We can seek to challenge and annoy, as we need not stay docile and quiet. William O. Douglas finals annoyed challenges If discrimination based on race is constitutionally permissible when those who hold the reins can come up with "compelling" reasons to justify it, then constitutional guarantees acquire an accordion-like quality. William O. Douglas compelling-reason quality race Violence has no constitutional sanction; and every government from the beginning has moved against it. But where grievances pile high and most of the elected spokesmen represent the Establishment, violence may be the only effective response. William O. Douglas violence government may I think that the influence towards suppression of minority views - towards orthodoxy in thinking about public issues - has been more subconscious than unconscious, stemming to a very great extent from the tendency of Americans to conform...not to deviate or depart from an orthodox point of view. William O. Douglas issues views thinking The conscience of this nation is the Constitution. William O. Douglas constitution conscience nations
