I have a habit of listening to people with whom I disagree. One statement which I disagreed with, came from someone who said that free speech is protected under the law but expression isn't.
I believe the person is wrong, but, not entirely wrong. The SCOTUS has upheld the right to burn the American flag as expressive speech, as it should.
Otherwise, free expression does get a little bit more complicated than free speech.
There are a lot of laws restricting expression which I don't think should exist. Not the least of which: women can actually be arrested for being topless in public while a man can show his man tits in public pretty much anywhere.
If you can't see women's tits without freaking out but you can see man tits without an issue, the problem is with you, not the tits.
There are restrictions on expression that we need. You can't argue that breaking a window and looting a business was just you expressing yourself. But, that's a totally different can of bees.
If you buy a pair of Nike shoes and burn them because you don't like Colin Kaepernick, that makes you an idiot and bad at financial decisions; but, that's protected expression, as it should be. It's not protected expression to steal the shoes.
The First Amendment is the most important legal protection in human history. We have extended it to include symbolic speech, which is just as important.
Free speech and free expression aren't all that different. They should almost be regarded as the same.
