"There is a deep link between academic freedom—the ability to explore ideas, opinions, and knowledge, as well as to criticize the status quo without fear of reprisal—and genuine political freedom. This is especially true of any country that aspires to some form of democracy. Great movements in history—political, scientific, economic, and cultural—always contain an element that comes from the academy, from schools or universities, or from writers and thinkers who are studied in schools and universities. Governments may be afraid of academic discussions and of artists because of the inconvenient truths and the powerful, even shocking beauty that their work reveals. But such fear does not well serve democratic ideals or freedom. The history of every society, and indeed of all nations, confirms this."