Free speech: how essential is it on the internet and in the political sphere? What if the door slammed on our free speech and we were no longer able to say or write what we think?

Leading up to the passage of the U.S. Constitution, James Madison and other anti-federalists insisted that freedom of speech and the press must be guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or 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.” The Supreme Court has ruled that free speech rights cannot be abridged by any level of government, including federal, state and local.

Over the last several years, freedom of speech has suffered severe blows at the hands of the federal government. Five citizens and two attorney generals (Missouri and Arkansas) pushed back in court. They claimed that the federal government violated the public’s free speech rights by coordinating with social media companies to suppress information people sought to share on their platforms. The case went through the district and appeals court levels and was appealed to the Supreme Court. The New York Times called the case one of “the most important First Amendment” cases of the internet age, because of the constitutional questions at stake.

On June 26, the Supreme Court issued its decision in the case entitled Murthy v. Missouri. As one organization put it, “The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled against plaintiffs, including two states and five social media users, who sued top Biden officials and government agencies for pressuring social media companies to censor content. In the 6-3 decision in Murthy v. Missouri, the justices ruled the plaintiffs didn’t have legal standing to bring their case.”

If we are really dedicated to free speech, we must support everyone’s free speech whether we agree with them or not. And we must speak out to protect our free speech in all possible venues and platforms. When we demonize others or call for their voices to be suppressed because we disagree with them, we are lending support to the government to suppress our own free speech. Someday we may find that the government is violating our right to speak. Dedication to protecting free speech without government censorship for everyone regardless of the popularity of views expressed seems to me to be an appropriate goal for July 4, the anniversary of the founding of our republic.

Carolyn Bninksi lives in Boulder.