This is free speech

By BEN NELMS

What is free speech? Why is it so important?

Free speech is a hallmark of any people unencumbered by the often invisible chains of tyranny, able to speak their mind without fear of reprisal or fear for their lives.

Was it only by chance or by whim that those at the founding of this nation, those who agreed to hang together lest they hang separately, put the concept, the right, of free speech in a place of prominence inside the very First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?

As a part of our Bill of Rights, that amendment, in 45 words, served as the touchstone that established the cornerstone of a new form of life for this Republic. It provided a guarantee that the right to speak freely, without fear of retribution, would be the law of the land.

Nestled inside those 45 little words are the rights of several freedoms: freedom of speech, of assembly, of a redress of grievances, of the exercise of religion and of the press.

Our Founding Fathers, ready to hang separately (that’s hang by the neck until dead, by the way), clearly knew the imminent danger that would result from sacrificing their newly won freedom at any cost, even that of security, as Franklin and others stated.

About three years ago when I first visited here, I was thrilled to see something included in these pages that is found lacking in many papers today. It was one of the factors that led me to believe I would like to work here.

To some it might not matter. But to me, it reflected the spirit of what our foundational rights are all about.

It is the Free Speech section of this paper. In most newspapers the space dedicated to Free Speech would be the repository of paid ads, not the opinions of the readers. But not here.

The Free Speech section is obviously well read. Many people contribute to it and countless others read it. Sometimes people complain about it, stating that we should nuke it from the paper. Of course, they usually put those comments in the Free Speech section of the paper where signatures are not required.

Beyond that, Free Speech provides something that can easily be overlooked. Free Speech provides a voice for those who often dare not express their opinions with a signed letter. Any doubt of this little piece of reality is unfortunate but, nonetheless, misinformed.

Even in my relatively short tenure here I have spoken with so many people who simply cannot afford to have their names attached to their opinions.

The reason is also simple. You may believe you live in a fair society where only the guilty are punished, but this is a sad illusion.

How many times have I been told that the person, his or her spouse or adult child would suffer at their jobs or other endeavors if their names appeared in the paper in a signed letter? A few dozen times since my arrival here in January.

Whether as a real or perceived threat, do they believe they would suffer retribution? Clearly, yes.

Those that travel the streets, as we do here, often here of stories we can never write due to the same fear. We speak personally with real people who have opinions but believe they cannot voice them, except in Free Speech.

A brief review of the headlines of this paper over the past few months tells the tale. This is serious business.

Beyond that, there is the apparent affront to some among us when reading particular comments in Free Speech. Curiously, this flies in the face of the First Amendment right to speak freely in the first place.

Have we become a quasi-democratic manifestation of something akin to the old Soviet state where conditioned tolerance (even among the populace) for the opinions of others is nonexistent? Is that what we want to become?

Free Speech doesn’t mean that we all agree with the opinions being put forward on these pages.

Perhaps conceptually if nothing else, Free Speech signifies that we reside in a land where differences of opinion can be openly stated, where we can respect others’ rights to state their minds even if we disagree with those opinions, where those who have no voice in the Halls of Power can find one here.

This is my opinion. This is Free Speech.