Opinion Today: Americans shouldn’t take free speech for granted

States are limiting what people can say, and that endangers the functioning of democracy.

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story January 22, 2024 By Jyoti Thottam Editorials Editor There is a thrilling moment in the memoir "Free," by the Albanian writer and philosopher Lea Ypi, in which she describes the arrival of her country's first opposition newspaper after the fall of Communism in December 1990. "For days there had been rumors that it was in print and would reach the bookshops — the only places that sold newspapers — early one morning." People stood in line to get it. One afternoon, her mother brought home the first issue, and her father read the editorial out loud. "It was titled 'The First Word.' The newspaper promised to defend freedom of speech and thought, and to always speak the truth. 'Only the truth is free, and only when the truth is revealed does freedom become true,' he read." Ypi lived through something that most of our readers, thankfully, will never experience: having no freedom of speech or thought, and then, one day, a reversal. Because these freedoms are part of America's founding principles, it can be hard for Americans to imagine a country without freedom of speech, and easy to take it for granted. That is, in part, why my colleagues and I on the editorial board feel it is particularly important to highlight the issue of freedom of speech and expression in our work. Our most recent editorial addresses several examples in which state governments have passed laws or imposed other restrictions that put ideological limits on what people can say, or require them to submit to ideological tests. As the editorial notes, there are many ways to stifle debate, but "the threat that Americans should be most concerned about is any attempt by government to limit the freedom of individuals to express their views or to dictate what they think." That's because having robust public debate, where many points of view are heard, is crucial to the functioning of a healthy democracy. Some readers may be weary of the controversies over free speech at colleges and universities. But I urge you to pay attention: These conflicts are escalating, and their repercussions go far beyond the campus. Read the editorial: Illustration by Rebecca Chew/The New York Times The Editorial Board When States Try to Take Away Americans' Freedom of Thought Government moves to limit what people can say are an escalation after years of policing speech in other ways By The Editorial Board Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Here's what we're focusing on today: Editors' Picks Guest Essay When Pain Tests the Limits of Recovery From Drug Addiction No one should be left in agony because of false beliefs that this protects them from addiction. By Maia Szalavitz More From Opinion Guest Essay Here Is One Way to Steal the Presidential Election The most dangerous strategy we could imagine to subvert the vote was made possible by the Supreme Court itself. By Lawrence Lessig and Matthew A. 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