So much of liberalism in its classical sense is taken for granted in the west today and even disrespected. We take freedom for granted, and because of this we don't understand how incredibly vulnerable it is.

Niall Ferguson
About This Quote

So much of liberalism in its classical sense is taken for granted in the west today and even disrespected. We take freedom for granted, and because of this we don't understand how incredibly vulnerable it is. We don't know that freedom can be taken away at any time. Freedom means nothing if there are no people to exercise it.

The right to vote doesn't mean much if the majority of citizens are too scared to use their right. Talk about democracy without mentioning this simple fact is like saying the United States does not have a problem with racism. It's not just walking around being racist, but being racist when other people are around, which is really all about fear of being called racist by other people.

Without other people to witness your actions, you don't have to worry about being called a racist or an anti-Semite or whatever you may be called because you are not being called them by anyone else.

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