A Quote by Marian Botsford Fraser on absence, abuse, boldness, censorship, citizenship, criticism, danger, execution, fame, fear, freedom, government, human rights, ignorance, life, obedience, politics, privacy, religion, silence, uncertainty, weapons, a

Censorship is almost systematically the weapon of first resort for governments in uncertain political situations. So not only are the famous writers and bold journalists in danger; at every level of public and private life, the freedoms to think, read or write are denied. In the absence of a free press, other human rights abuses flourish unabated. Nothing is reported, criticized, questioned. The example of imprisonment, torture or execution imposes a further silence. A blindly obedient mob mentality is encouraged, driven by extremist religious or ethnic loyalties. The citizens do not know what is happening. Fear and ignorance permeate discussion.