If we confuse dissent with disloyalty — if we deny the right of the individual to be wrong, unpopular, eccentric or unorthodox — if we deny the essence of racial equality then hundreds of millions in Asia and Africa who are shopping about for a new allegiance will conclude that we are concerned to defend a myth and our present privileged status. Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the... confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought.

Ford Fiftieth Anniversary Show, CBS and NBC (June 1953)