Is Speech in the US Still Free?

By Daniella Augenstein.

U.S. Citizens and non-citizens alike often take the First Amendment for granted. We do not always think about it; but when we do, most of us believe that it will always be there. We act on that assumption every day. We exercise our Constitutionally protected ability to speak our minds freely, no matter how controversial our thoughts may be.

But is freedom of speech still alive and well in what was once the freest country on earth?

Calling attention to our views is, in this country, a natural part of life. If we do not like the decision Congress is about to make, we protest. If we believe that an issue is not getting the attention it deserves, we create a petition. If we are simply fed up and cannot take it anymore, regardless of what “it” is, we assert our contrary positions.

The Occupy Movement was one such example, and catalyzed the now well-known rhetoric surrounding the 1% and 99%. It largely served to increase tensions between economic classes without offering any real solutions to the problems to which it called attention. Even so, no matter where one stood on the positions offered by the movement, there is no question about their right to offer them. Freedom of speech, after all, is protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

But there are other factors at play. One such factor is the climate of fear and itchy trigger fingers that have gripped the country since the attacks of 9/11, and which have fundamentally changed our security landscape. Also included is such legislation as the Patriot Act, giving the government the legal standing to monitor any actions that they deem potentially threatening. Something as seemingly harmless as searching for the wrong term out of curiosity on your favorite search engine might land you on an FBI watch list. Involved in a politically active group? There is a good chance that you have already been flagged.

Speaking your mind was once not only allowed, but encouraged and protected. In fact, the Founding Fathers of this great country believed that this issue was so important – so very central to constructive discourse and leadership – that they successfully sought to make it the very first Amendment to the Constitution. It is not enough to assume that speech is free, and they knew that. It must be actively fostered and protected where necessary, and this must be the case in any society that wishes to reach its greatest potential.

Today, however, we are watching as this freedom is chipped away steadily and with a strong hand. Not only are we faced with an over-zealous government covering the country in red flags in the name of “security,” but we must also face what is perhaps an even greater threat: political correctness. The eggshells that we have been walking on since uttering our first words are now beginning to show the bloodstains of the inevitable cuts they leave behind.

There may be no better illustration of this than on college campuses. In university classrooms across the country, students who speak out against the grain are often engaged in a discussion with their instructors that is reserved only for those students with whom the professors disagree. In fact, I have witnessed this first-hand: I was once openly laughed at by a professor while I gave a presentation on solutions to our current fiscal woes. Because my position did not give credence to bank hatred or excessive regulation, I was made a mockery of in front of a class of almost 100 students. I was not given the same opportunity to offer my position unfettered to the class as were those students who echoed my professor’s viewpoints.

An underhanded and subtle attack on our freedom of expression and speech is on the rise. The next generation of world leaders is being taught, in no uncertain terms, that it must accept certain positions and reject others in such a way that does not allow the indoctrinated positions to be placed under the scrutiny of rational discourse.

If you still find yourself in a position of inquiry, wondering whether or not this freedom is at risk, consider the story of Ray McGovern, the 71-year-old U.S. Army veteran who endured a physical confrontation with police for turning his back on Hillary Clinton as she chastised foreign leaders for disrespecting the rights of their people. According to David Swanson of Truthout.org:

“As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday about the failures of foreign leaders to respect people’s freedoms, a 71-year-old U.S. veteran Army officer, a man who spent 27 years in the CIA and delivered presidential daily briefs, a peace activist and proponent of nonviolence, the man who famously confronted Donald Rumsfeld for his war lies, the man who drafted our letter to Spain and delivered it to the Spanish Embassy on Monday, our friend Ray McGovern turned his back in silence. As Clinton continued to speak about respecting the rights of protesters, her guards — including a uniformed policeman and an unidentified plain-clothed official — grabbed Ray, dragged him off violently, brutalized him, double-cuffed him with metal handcuffs, and left him bleeding in jail. As he was hauled away… Ray shouted “So this is America?” Clinton went right on mouthing her hypocrisies without a pause.” Truthout

You can watch the video here.

If we cannot question what we are taught, or even stand silently with our backs turned to those with whom we disagree, then one thing becomes clear: the First Amendment is losing ground. If only certain positions are to be considered socially acceptable, and all others are thrown to the wolves of political correctness and national security, then the benefits of protecting free speech and expression are lost. Whether or not the First Amendment and its legal protection exist is only a secondary consideration to the more immediately critical question: are we actively suppressing free speech in this country through other means? The answer, sadly, seems to be yes. And, until we remove the shackles of political correctness and fear (not only of external threats, but also of public scrutiny), this will remain so.

14 Responses to "Is Speech in the US Still Free?"

  1. Harry Kitchen says:

    Thanks for bringing this concrete example to the attention of more people. We should be aware of challenges to free speech in all their forms.

  2. At-Will Tree Hugger says:

    This article says a few things with absolute brilliance. True, we are living in dangerously vague times with incarcerations due to “national security” so-called concerns; and the ever elusive and nonspecific enemy of “terror” against which “we” are “at war” for an undetermined period of time – with uncertain goals commensurate with the uncertain “enemy”. In any event, I am very much looking forward to future installments by this writer, Daniella. I always appreciate well-articulated viewpoints that stem from a source of true passion about a given subject matter. Thank you for bringing this writer to the world’s attention!

  3. Jim Collier says:

    This is extremely articulate and relevant. It is important to realize that Americans have never really enjoyed the luxury of assuming the right to free speech. One example is the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 (under John Adams). This was a series of laws that deemed as treasonous ‘any false, scandalous and malicious writing’ that might insult the government. This language cast quite a wide net, and was used to jail 25 newspaper publishers. Clearly more onerous was the Espionage Act passed in 1917 as a result of Woodrow Wilson’s Creel Commission. It afforded the government sufficient latitude to fine or jail anti-World War I protesters and journalists deemed to have interferred with military recruitment. Hundreds of Americans were fined and jailed as a result of this legislation. Often lost in contemporary discussion is that our 1st Amendment is based on English Common Law which bans ‘prior restraint’ and not retribution after the fact.

  4. Excellent points, all. Thank you for taking the time to add your thoughtful comments, as well as additional information that I did not bring up in this article. Everything that has been said here is of critical importance in developing a fully informed understanding of this issue.

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  12. Lance Feldman says:

    Great article! The treatment of Mr. McGovern was outrageous. Your points on the loss of freedom are valid and cogent. It seems that these days you are only free to say what the PC police will allow. The question is: “How do we restore our liberty?”

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