The post-September 11th era for me seems to be the testing ground for the durability of the freedom of speech and the press in my short lifetime. There are others who have written extensively and more eloquently than I ever could on the subject, so I will simply offer a lesson drawn from one of many examples of my own experience and observations.
When I spent time with some friends at an event to protest the bombing of Afghanistan in 2001, opponents of our protest had things like this to say: “You know, our soldiers are fighting overseas to protect your right to do what you’re doing!”
The lesson to be drawn from this appears to be a simple one: be happy to have the freedom of speech; just don’t exercise it.
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