Category: Thought

Criminals are never materially handicapped by such rules; the only effect is to disarm the peaceful citizen and put him fully at the mercy of the lawless. Such rules look very pretty on paper; in practice they are as foolish and footless as the attempt of the mice to bell the cat. Such is my thesis, that the licensing of weapons is subversive of liberty and self-defeating in its pious purpose.

Robert A. Heinlein, Letter to Alice Dalgliesh, the editor who was censoring his manuscript for Red Planet, regarding firearm registration and control.

It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Return of the King (1955), the final volume of the fantasy classic The Lord of the Rings.

I don’t deserve a share in governing a hen-roost, much less a nation. Nor do most people — all the people who believe advertisements, and think in catchwords and spread rumors. The real reason for democracy is just the reverse. Mankind is so fallen that no man can be trusted with unchecked power over his fellows. Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters.

There is one thing no head of a country can know, and that is: how good is his intelligence system? He finds out only by having it fail him.

Robert A. Heinlein, The Puppet Masters (1951), Chapter 1 (p. 7, Signet (#W7339)).

The many Hundreds of Thousands, that are now in Slavery, were they at Liberty, as we are, had the same Education, Learning, Conversation, Books, sweet Communion in our Religious Assemblies; I believe many of them would exceed many of their Tyrant Masters in Piety, Virtue and Godliness; and their bright Genius, which I know they have, would be inlivened; for I have converst with many of them, for Liberty is Life, and Slavery is Death, nay the very thoughts of it to the right thinking Animal, as Man or Woman.

Benjamin Lay, All Slave-Keepers That keep the Innocent in Bondage, Apostates, page 56, published by its author in Philadelphia in 1737, printed by Benjamin Franklin.

The depiction of Lay, above, is as painted by William Williams in 1750. Lay was short, standing at just over four feet.

I also think there are prices too high to pay to save the United States. Conscription is one of them. Conscription is slavery, and I don’t think that any people or nation has a right to save itself at the price of slavery for anyone, no matter what name it is called. We have had the draft for twenty years now; I think this is shameful. If a country can’t save itself through the volunteer service of its own free people, then I say: Let the damned thing go down the drain!

Robert A. Heinlein, Guest of Honor Speech at the 29th World Science Fiction Convention, Seattle, Washington (1961).

Ancient Rome declined because it had a Senate; now what’s going to happen to us with both a Senate and a House?

I foresaw political correctness 43 years ago. . . . whereas back then I wrote about the tyranny of the majority, today I’d combine that with the tyranny of the minorities. These days, you have to be careful of both. They both want to control you. . . . I say to both bunches, Whether you’re a majority or minority, bug off! To hell with anybody who wants to tell me what to write. Their society breaks down into subsections of minorities who then, in effect, burn books by banning them. All this political correctness that’s rampant on campuses is B.S. You can’t fool around with the dangerous notion of telling a university what to teach and what not to.

Ray Bradbury, referring to his 1953 novel of book-burning, Fahrenheit 451 in a Playboy interview (May 1996).

I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and incur my own abhorrence. From my earliest recollection, I date the entertainment of a deep conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me within its foul embrace; and in the darkest hours of my career in slavery, this living word of faith and spirit of hope departed not from me, but remained like ministering angels to cheer me through the gloom. This good spirit was from God, and to him I offer thanksgiving and praise.

The capacity of the human mind for swallowing nonsense and spewing it forth in violent and repressive action has never yet been plumbed.

Robert A. Heinlein, Revolt in 2100 (1953), postscript.