Free speech in the balance
Free speech is an essential component to the operation of a representative government committed to equal rights and the general welfare of the people. The constitutional right to engage in open expression is designed to secure personal dignity, civic engagement, and flow of information. No generation of interpreters can claim to capture its full relevance to social cohesion. The broad statement found in the Constitution has long been the subject of evolving, sometimes inconsistent, constitutional meaning. Since the early twentieth century, the Supreme Court has been at the forefront of efforts to articulate the range of words, symbols, arts, and other objects or activities that the First Amendment protects. Interpretation takes into account a variety of constitutional contexts, principles, and discursive considerations. As Justice Sotomayor pointed in her dissent to Manhattan Community Access Corporation v. Halleck, the context within which a statement is said should be considered along with the actual words allegedly in violation of a law