Americans are blessed to have constitutional rights, especially the First Amendment right of free speech. As Benjamin Franklin once wrote, whoever “would overthrow the Liberty of a Nation, must begin by subduing the Freeness of Speech.”Free speech is central to liberty, and this belief underpins the necessity of the First Amendment. This amendment holds the powerful to account and protects the right of Americans to express themselves freely.
Unfortunately, our free speech rights are constantly under assault. In the era of President Donald Trump, Democrats and their allies in government and the media have worked tirelessly to censor the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement. Too many MAGA conservatives have been shadow banned and removed from social media platforms.The bias was apparent in the 2020 election when social media platforms limited the reach of the critical story involving Hunter Biden’s laptop. If there had been accurate reporting on this story, it would have swayed a considerable number of voters.According to a survey by the Polling Company, 17% of Joe Biden voters in “seven swing states” would have switched their support to President Donald Trump if they had known about the laptop story. Thus, on this one issue, the 2020 election result would have been different.Americans deserve the truth on all issues and the best way to achieve that result is full disclosure of vital information. The last thing Americans need is for government bureaucrats deciding what information is acceptable or what app can be placed on our phones.Today, Americans are increasingly dependent on social media. One critical social media forum is TikTok. However, this app has become controversial in recent years and many politicians, both Republicans and Democrats, want to ban TikTok.Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs weekdays nationally on Real America’s Voice TV Network, AmericasVoice.News