Rather than merely affirming abstract principle, they worked through an on-the-ground commitment to freedom of expression along with the cultivation of diverse points of view and a sense of belonging.
What we do in South Africa must prove that it rests on a commitment to freedom for all.
The United States would regain its leadership role in the region, based on its commitment to freedom, democracy and justice, and a major cause of widespread animosity toward America within the Arab world would be eliminated.
Although Zuckerberg has been outspoken on his commitment to freedom of speech "the fear is that Facebook becomes the broker between citizens and the government," says Geoffrey Wokulira Ssebaggala, from the digital rights organisation Unwanted Witness Uganda.
Figuring out how to tell the difference is the work of the university, which rests on a commitment to freedom of inquiry, an unflinching search for truth, and the fearless unmasking of error.
Public commitment to freedom of information on all sides of politics is "rank hypocrisy", the former information commissioner, John McMillan, has said in his first interview since leaving office.
In 1981, when Angolan rebel Jonas Savimbi initially came to Washington in hope of capitalizing on Reagan's expressed commitment to "freedom fighters," his encounters with top Administration officials were unpublicized and unproductive.
When an academic institution of such standing asserts the need to suppress scholarly work because of a theoretical possibility of violence somewhere in the world, it grants legitimacy to censorship and casts serious doubt on their, and our, commitment to freedom of expression in general, and academic freedom in particular.
The president should use this example of American commitment to freedom of worship to call on the Saudi Monarch to support similar freedoms and protection to non-Muslims in Saudi Arabia.
His commitment to freedom has always been absolute.
