Читать книгу Keeping the Republic - Christine Barbour - Страница 139

Among the most cherished of American values is the right to free speech. The First Amendment reads that “Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedoms of speech, or of the press” and, at least theoretically, most Americans agree.²⁹ When it comes to actually practicing free speech, however, our national record is less impressive. In fact, time and again, Congress has made laws abridging freedom of expression, often with the enthusiastic support of much of the American public. As a nation we have never had a great deal of difficulty restricting speech we don’t like, admire, or respect. The challenge of the First Amendment is to protect the speech we despise.

freedom of expression the right of the people to free speech