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The inherent conflict between free speech and censorship has come to the fore again and again over the course of American history. We're reminded of this fact by the currency of a viral quote denouncing book burning attributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower, the nation's 34th president (1953-1961). The quote, albeit abbreviated, is correctly attributed to him. As rendered in countless memes making the rounds on social media, it goes like this: Don't join the book burners. Don't think you are going to conceal faults by concealing the evidence that they ever existed. Don't be afraid to go into your library and read every book. The Republican president spoke these words during a commencement address at Dartmouth College on June 14, 1953, in the first year of his presidency. In the roughly 10-minute speech, he commended two crucial personal qualities to the graduates: joy and courage. As to the first, Eisenhower implored his audience to be mindful of the advantages in life that paved their road to success, to set high personal standards and live up to them, and to find happiness in helping to make the world a better place. As to the second, Eisenhower said: You must have the courage to look at all about you with honest eyes -- above all, yourself. He went on to urge the graduates to look at their own country, even its imperfections, with those same honest eyes: And part of being able to look at one's country with honest eyes, he argued, is not siding with the book burners (emphasis added): As can be seen in the highlighted text, the untruncated passage includes a noteworthy clarification that appears to argue explicitly for eschewing all forms of censorship in favor of personal discretion: Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book, as long as that document does not offend our own ideas of decency. That should be the only censorship.
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