Americans can exercise their right to free speech in any form as long as it is within the confines given by the government. If there is any infraction of free speech or incorrect use of the right, the government can legally enforce a subsequent punishment. This is much more freeing than other countries that completely restrict some speech and media, where they enforce Prior Restraint.
Several people have taken full advantage of the government ordained free speech in various websites and forums, where people with opinions or points they want to share can state their opinion, agree with others who have similar views, or argue certain points if there is a disagreement. This practice is completely legal, as the United States allows opinions about the government to be shared publicly with no backlash unless opinions and words turn into anti-government actions. The day I wrote this post, a retired Air Force colonel replied to this post and talked about withdrawing troops from Iran and Saudi Arabia on the website antiwar.com, arguing that withdrawing troops was not premature or reckless. This was published so recently that there were no replies or comments posted. Every day people use their freedom of speech to express their opinion, even if nobody else has seen it yet, and I believe that is valuable.
Pictured: American troops in Saudi Arabia.
Pictured: American troops in Saudi Arabia.
People even get to talk about the President and his orders, policies, and other actions in both positive and negative ways without facing any government punishment. A blogger on The American Conservative stated in one of his blogs regarding the relationship between Rudy Giuliani and President Donald Trump, "Trump may be an idiot, but he is not stupid..." In other, stricter countries, calling their leader an "idiot" could land you some serious consequences. Countries under dictatorships or heavily enforced monarchies ensure that their citizens always agree with their leaders, no matter what they do or decide to do with their country. The value of free speech is incredibly overlooked, since some people would be thrown in jail or worse if they said even half of the things they say about our President. Websites like antiwar.com and The American Conservative would not exist if the United States had the same laws of countries like Turkmenistan or North Korea, which controls the press in its entirety.
Sources:
antiwar.com
The American Conservative
Sources:
antiwar.com
The American Conservative
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