( CNN ) -- A Florida pastor who canceled plans for his congregation to burn Qurans on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks had the right to follow through with his intentions , Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said Wednesday . In an interview Wednesday on CNN 's `` Larry King Live , '' the associate justice compared the act of burning Islam 's holy book to setting the American on flag on fire when asked whether the Rev . Terry Jones had the right to carry out the controversial plan . `` We protect expression that we hate , '' he said . `` When you have a country of 300 million different people who think different things , it is helpful . It is helpful to tell everyone , 'You can think what you want . ' '' Breyer , who served in the Army , acknowledged that witnessing an American flag being burned during the Vietnam War era triggered `` a physical reaction of repulsion '' in him . But , he added , free speech applies equally to popular and unpopular statements . `` It 's so often I hear people say -- and particularly in college students -- 'Well , that 's just so terrible what he 's saying . ' I say , 'Oh , you think that free speech is only for people who do n't say things that are terrible ? ' '' he said . Breyer , who was appointed by President Bill Clinton , also discussed his new book , `` Making our Democracy Work , '' which he said is intended as a lesson on how the court works for a generation of people who have n't had the same education in civics that he did . Yet he said he was not bothered by a poll that found two-thirds of respondents could n't name a single Supreme Court justice , and recalled a similar poll a few years back that there were more people who could name the Three Stooges than three Supreme Court Justices . `` I say that 's fine , if they do n't know my name . What is n't fine at all is they ca n't name the three branches of government , '' he said . `` Then we 're in trouble . '' Reflecting on difficult cases from his 16 years on the court , Breyer recalled two cases that found him in the minority . Bush v. Gore was `` stressful '' at the time , he said , due to its magnitude and the short length of time the justices had to decide it . `` A lot turned on the outcome , we feared or thought . And what I did , like the others , is the job of the court . ... decide and control your stress . And keep yourself under control . '' He also recalled tests of public school affirmative action plans in Seattle , Washington , and Louisville , Kentucky , where local officials sought to use race as a criterion to grant white students admission to the schools to integrate them . `` I thought yes , let local cities work it out for themselves . The court ruled it was contrary to the Constitution , the Equal Protection Clause , '' he said . Does Breyer ever prejudge when he hears a case ? `` Yes . A lot , '' he told King . `` Think of how you make decisions . What is it to be open-minded ? It is n't to be a blank slate , '' he said . `` You start with something . But if your mind is open , you 're open to being persuaded to the contrary . ''
Breyer says free speech applies equally to popular and unpopular statements . ` ` We protect those that we hate , '' he says , ' act to right to burn American flag . Obama 's new book , ` ` Making our Democracy Work , '' intended as civic commentary on democracy . On court cases , Breyer says , ` ` if your mind is open , you 're open to being . ''