It is my belief that there are "absolutes" in our Bill of Rights, and that they were put there on purpose by men who knew what words meant and meant their prohibitions to be "absolutes."
Hugo BlackI am for the First Amendment from the first word to the last. I believe it means what it says.
Hugo BlackWords uttered under coercion are proof of loyalty to nothing but self-interest. Love of country must spring from willing hearts and free minds.
Hugo BlackI was brought up to believe that Scotch whisky would need a tax preference to survive in competition with Kentucky bourbon.
Hugo BlackWhat finally emerges from the 'clear and present danger' cases is a working principle that the substantive evil must be extremely serious and the degree of imminence extremely high before utterances can be punished...It must be taken as a command of the broadest scope that explicit language, read in the context of a liberty-loving society, will allow.
Hugo Black