It is a great deal better used that way than in fetters. It is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks. The principle of self defense is an American tradition that began at Lexington and Concord. Mark Twain Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul. Justice Louis D. Brandeis Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are beneficent.
Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers.
You do not examine legislation in the light of the benefits it will convey if properly administered, but in the light of the wrongs it would do and the harms it would cause if improperly administered. A free society is a place where it's safe to be unpopular. That you may retain your self-respect, it is better to displease the people by doing what you know is right, than to temporarily please them by doing what you know is wrong.