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Debatable Quotes

On certainty, change, and what's settled for good.

These debatable quotes play with the tension between certainty and doubt: one wryly jokes that almost nothing is truly absolute, carving out only itself and mortality as exceptions, while another states plainly that equality for gay and lesbian people is a settled matter in both church and state today.

Anderson's muckraking is one of debatable ends constantly used to justify questionable works.

Quotes by Thomas Griffith

Equal rights should not be debatable and certainly should not be put to a vote of the people. Would we ask the electorate to vote on whether or not Catholics and Protestants should marry? Of course we would not.

Quotes by Richard Grenell

Inequality for gay and lesbian people is no longer a debatable issue in either church or state.

Quotes by John Shelby Spong

Nothing is absolute, with the debatable exceptions of this statement and death.

Quotes by John Ralston Saul

Absolute Quotes

In 1967, London Weekend Television asked me to head up their sports coverage. I got to work with guys like Brian Moore and Dickie Davies. We were the first ones to come up with the idea of the pundits' panel....

Quotes by Jimmy Hill

Though there are some debatable exceptions, sanctions rarely play a significant role in dislodging or constraining the behavior of despicable regimes.

Quotes by Jacob Weisberg

Embedded in 'The New York Times' institutional perspective and reporting methodologies are all sorts of quite debatable and subjective political and cultural assumptions about the world. And with some noble exceptions, 'The Times,' by design or otherwise, has long served...

Quotes by Glenn Greenwald

To pass to the deluge, and beyond it, and to come to close quarters with our proper division, the origin of Romance itself is a very debatable subject, or rather it is a subject which the wiser mind will hardly...

Quotes by George Saintsbury

Clemens, Seaver, Gibson, Maddux - I just don't see myself in that category. I'm flattered that maybe it's debatable at this point.

Quotes by David Cone

Behavior Quotes

It was a fair decision, the penalty, even though it was debatable whether it was inside or outside the box.

Quotes by Bobby Charlton

That does not mean that we must forego just and fair criticism, or refrain from opposition to policies which are debatable or which do not command our approval.

Quotes by Bainbridge Colby

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Frequently Asked Questions

What kinds of "debatable" claims appear on this page?
They range from a self-aware philosophical joke about absolutes, to a firm statement that equality for gay and lesbian people is settled rather than debatable, to a media critique of muckraking journalism.
What does the equality quote actually claim?
It states that treating gay and lesbian people unequally is a position both religious and government institutions have moved past, presenting equality as an established, settled matter rather than an open question.
Why do people search for debatable quotes?
Often for essays or arguments about certainty and open questions, or to find a memorable line acknowledging that some issues remain genuinely contested while others have moved past debate entirely.
What does the muckraking quote criticize?
It argues that some investigative journalism pursues debatable ends, meaning outcomes of questionable value, used to justify tactics the quote considers similarly questionable.
Is there a lighter or self-referential quote in this collection?
Yes, one line jokes that virtually nothing is truly absolute, carving out only itself and mortality as the exceptions, using humor to make a point about certainty that pairs well with our Absolute quotes.

A more personal quote recalls pioneering sports punditry on 1967 British television, an idea that was once itself debatable. For more on shifting norms, see our Absolute and Behavior quotes.