Walter Lippmann

"Whereas each man claims his freedom as a matter of right, the freedom he accords to other men is a matter of toleration." Walter Lippmann

"That the manufacture of consent is capable of great refinements no one, I think, denies. The process by which public opinions arise is certainly no less intricate than it has appeared in these pages, and the opportunities for manipulation open to anyone who understands the process are plain enough. . . . as a result of psychological research, coupled with the modern means of communication, the practice of democracy has turned a corner. A revolution is taking place, infinitely more significant than any shifting of economic power. . . . Under the impact of propaganda, not necessarily in the sinister meaning of the word alone, the old constants of our thinking have become variables. It is no longer possible, for example, to believe in the original dogma of democracy; that the knowledge needed for the management of human affairs comes up spontaneously from the human heart. Where we act on that theory we expose ourselves to self-deception, and to forms of persuasion that we cannot verify. It has been demonstrated that we cannot rely upon intuition, conscience, or the accidents of casual opinion if we are to deal with the world beyond our reach." Walter Lippmann

"There are at least two distinct selves, the public and regal self, the private and human." Walter Lippmann

"The common interests very largely elude public opinion entirely, and can be managed only by a specialised class." Walter Lippmann

"The function of news is to signalize an event, the function of truth is to bring to light the hidden facts, to set them in relation with each other, and make a picture of reality on which men can act." Walter Lippmann

"There is no arguing with the pretenders to a divine knowledge and to a divine mission. They are possessed with the sin of pride, they have yielded to the perennial temptation." Walter Lippmann

"Ages when custom is unsettled are necessarily ages of prophecy. The moralist cannot teach what is revealed; he must reveal what can be taught. He has to seek insight rather than to preach." Walter Lippmann

"We must protect the right of our opponents to speak because we must hear what they have to say." Walter Lippmann

"People who are tremendously concerned about their identification, their individuality, their self-expression, or their sense of humor, always seem to be missing the very things they pursue." Walter Lippmann

"It is at the cross-roads that skepticism is born, not in a hermitage." Walter Lippmann

"The justification of majority rule in politics is not to be found in its ethical superiority." Walter Lippmann

"We must remember that in time of war what is said on the enemy's side of the front is always propaganda and what is said on our side of the front is truth and righteousness, the cause of humanity and a crusade for peace." Walter Lippmann

"Freedom to speak... can be maintained only by promoting debate." Walter Lippmann

"We are told about the world before we see it. We imagine most things before we experience them. And those preconceptions, unless education has made us acutely aware, govern deeply the whole process of perception." Walter Lippmann