Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, there are more than a dozen countries in this world that restrict freedom of religion, including Iran and China. Imagine being told your religion was unacceptable and being carted off to jail for offering a Bible to someone. This is not an unusual occurrence in some countries with state-sponsored religions. In this country, we have a few sacrosanct words known as ``First Amendment to the Constitution'' that guarantee no one will be punished for the religion that they choose to follow: ``Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.'' When a person decides to burn the Koran, the Bible, or any other sacred document in this country, he has the freedom to do so even if the overwhelming majority of us vehemently disagree with his decision. It is difficult for the citizens of some other countries to understand or to tolerate this kind of freedom. Yet it is the bedrock of our democracy. We have the right to disagree, to ignore, to protest against or to take the matter to court for a ruling, but we do not have the right to determine what another person is to believe. Unfortunately, that kind of freedom challenges other governments and cultures.…”