“And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world.
And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected.
And this I must fight against: any religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.
This is what I am and what I am about. I can understand why a system built on a pattern must try to destroy the free mind, for it is the one thing which can by inspection destroy such a system.
Surely I can understand this, and I hate it and I will fight against it to preserve the one thing that separates us from the uncreative beasts.”
– John Steinbeck, East of Eden
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_of_Eden_%28novel%29