For more than 200 years, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has stood as a bulwark against censorship by our government. No matter the political leanings or partisan affiliation of those in power, dissent and discourse still thrive in our nation, where the freedom to speak and live according to one’s deeply held convictions is held sacred by both the governing and the governed.
This exemplary virtue has been America’s greatest gift to the world. President Ronald Reagan’s Cold War description of America as the “shining city on a hill” is as relevant in the 21st century as it was in the 20th. Today, technology like social-media platforms and mass communication has enabled the exchange of ideas to connect the world more closely than in any other time in history.





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