The Fight for Free Speech

The one thing that makes me sad is the publication date: This should be out now!

Ever since moving to the Untied States, I noticed that the 'freedom of speech' is heralded as uniquely American just like the 'right to bear arms'. There is not a dinner conversation, without an American explaining me this, usually wrong. Not only are they wrong in the absolute way they perceive it. They are wrong in which areas of life it applies and where it does not, They are wrong when they believe that you can literally say anything without repercussions - spoiler alert - you can't.

This book is telling 10 different stories ripped from current headlines, and puts them into the context of Supreme Court precedent cases, explaining the law of the land AND the reasoning and thought process behind them. The first amendment becomes alive in your head as something very reasonable, regulated and nothing like these people of Facebook think what it is. And not THAT unique either.

I wish it would come to stores near you before the election, but it may be a conscious choice by author and publisher to wait until the middle of winter.

Mostly Solid Explanation of What 'Free Speech' Means As Decreed By SCOTUS... And What It Does Not. This is a legal treatise that never once explicitly states the very thing it seeks to define - the particular text of the First Amendment to the US Constitution that reads "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.". It also refers to a famous yet apocryphal "Ben Franklin" quote in its introduction. And yet despite these two flaws, it is still a mostly solid look at what the Supreme Court of the United States of America has decreed "the right to free speech" means over the last nearly 250 years, mostly within the last century or so. The book does a solid job of using an example usually from this Millenium (or even decade) as its starting point for each chapter's discussion, then going into the history and actual SCOTUS decisions, what they said, and what they mean. Including showing the *rest* of the famous ruling that "you can't yell fire in a crowded theater". Well, you can. If there is a fire. ;) And if you're interested in the concept of Free Speech in the US for any reason at all, this is a book you'll want to read. Very much recommended.