{"product_id":"voltaire-it-is-dangerous-to-be-right-when-the-established-authorities-are-wrong","title":"Dangerous to be Right","description":"\u003cblockquote\u003e\"It is dangerous to be right when the established authorities are wrong.\" - Voltaire\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Il est dangereux d'avoir raison dans des choses où des hommes accrédités ont tort.\" \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVoltaire learned early in his writing career about the danger of censorship at the hands of the powerful. When a minor argument with the Chevalier of Rohan resulted in his unlawful imprisonment in the Bastille, he was forced into exile to retain freedom of speech. It was a bargain that has immeasurably benefited the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile in exile, he wasted no time offending the French \"royal censor\" (yes, that was a thing) by publishing \u003ci\u003eLettres philosophiques\u003c\/i\u003e, which was subsequently banned and burned for criticizing the French monarchy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVoltaire was the father of the Enlightenment, and his name is synonymous with the age. As Hugo said, \"To name Voltaire is to characterize the entire eighteenth century.\" He was the leading progenitor of the principles that have become our modern liberal values - most notably that universal freedom of speech is far better for the world than tightly controlled, centralized sense-making by the \"established authorities,\" whomever they might be and whatever their claim to truth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn our illustration, we give this quotation a modern, Orwellian twist. A simple equation is given a \"truth\" makeover by the authorities. We'd like to think that Voltaire's objection to the depicted defacing would not so much be the false assertion of the five, but the censorship of the four. Voltaire would have equally defended the five had it been the other way around, and therein lies the genius of his principle. As he is often paraphrased as saying, \"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSPECIAL OFFER\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAny 3 prints for $48 (regularly $72) \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCode: 3PRINTS\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eSee all prints \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/obviousstate.mom\/collections\/art-prints\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"meta\"\u003e• 11x14 inch art print with white border \u003cbr\u003e• Premium, fine art paper made in New York \u003cbr\u003e• Elegant eggshell finish\u003cbr\u003e• Ships in a a rigid, flat mailer. No need to unroll! \u003cbr\u003e• Fits into standard 11x14 frames (or a 16x20 frame matted to 11x14) \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCustom sizes available\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/obviousstate.myshopify.com\/products\/custom-print\"\u003eHERE\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"meta\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"disclaimer\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Voltaire","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40183816749214,"sku":"21P-VOL2","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0544\/5705\/products\/21P-VOL2-1_f936b952-ad9b-4f8e-ac9c-e206f3cd83be.jpg?v=1772059768","url":"https:\/\/obviousstate.mom\/products\/voltaire-it-is-dangerous-to-be-right-when-the-established-authorities-are-wrong","provider":"Obvious State","version":"1.0","type":"link"}