Should They Come For You
Before They Come For Me
Know That I Will Fight
For Our Shared Freedom
To Disagree
“If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”
— Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan
The freedom to speak and to listen and to decide for oneself what is true is so important that the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States makes the preservation of this right mandatory for the government.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
It does not follow from this prohibition that governments are the only threat.
All of us, especially the most powerful, should defend the right of others to speak freely, even especially when what is said seems offensive or disagreeable. Not that long ago, one of the most offensive and disagreeable ideas in many American towns was desegregation. Another has been marijuana reform. School prayer. Abortion.
Whichever side of an issue you may fall, imagine that the most vehement opposing view obtains overwhelming power. Then imagine they use that power end the debate. Forever.
This is happening. This is real. It's wrong. And it must stop.