WILL THAULT: Freedom Month Part 1: Freedom of Speech

Editor’s Note: As discussed in his column last Sunday, Will Thault — in celebration of “Freedom Month” — will take a look throughout the month of July at President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous “Four Freedoms” speech. For a look at Norman Rockwell’s “Four Freedoms” illustrations based on Roosevelt’s words, follow this link: Norman Rockwell Four Freedoms paintings inspired by Franklin Roosevelt.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his “Four Freedoms” speech before Congress in January 1941, at a time when the Axis Powers were steamrolling across the free world with their fascist war machines of oppression and terror. While not yet involved, our nation watched and waited. FDR saw the inevitable ahead and prepared us for our role as the last great hope for freedom-loving people everywhere.

But even then, Roosevelt was looking far beyond the war’s end, envisioning the healing of a world “founded upon four essential human freedoms.” These principles would come to define what we Americans would be fighting for during World War II and, I would argue, continue to fight for even today.

The first has been a benchmark of the American way of life ever since the Declaration of Independence, which we celebrate this weekend: Freedom of Speech. This freedom is so hard-wired into our identity, we prioritized it in the very first amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Using FDR’s “Four Freedoms” speech as a source of inspiration, famous artist and illustrator, Norman Rockwell, popularized it with a series of four paintings reproduced in “The Saturday Evening Post” over four consecutive weeks in 1943. These paintings created such a sensation that the U.S. Department of the Treasury used them to highlight a touring exhibition to sell War Bonds. The drive raised more than $132 million (over $2.6 billion in today’s dollars) toward the war effort.

“The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world,” Roosevelt said. Rockwell titled his interpretation of that phrase as simply, “Freedom of Speech.” This iconic scene is of a town meeting where a blue-collar worker stands giving his opinion on some point under discussion, as the audience listens with full attention to his words. The inference is that his voice holds the same weight as any man or woman, whether of high or low stature, speaking their mind freely without concern for censure or reproach for holding a dissenting view.

Freedom of speech was precious then as it still is today. Due to the recent polarization of ideas in this country, though, there’s less and less tolerance for opposing views whether it be at the U.S. Capitol, in a town square, on a college campus or at the dinner table.

But there may be a glimmer of hope. A recent survey conducted by the Freedom Forum addressed the issue of freedom of speech and came back with some promising results. Of the 800 respondents ages 16+, 61% agreed that First Amendment freedoms can help bridge the country’s divisions. In fact 93% said that, “The First Amendment is vital and it doesn’t go too far in the rights it guarantees (69%).” Compared to a similar 2020 survey, those who said the First Amendment should never be changed, rose to from 68% to 75% (64% expressed this position strongly, up from 54% in 2020).

In spite of all that we’d gone through in 2020, a tenacious attitude still persisted, according to another survey conducted in the same year. “… (H)alf of respondents said their hope in America was fading, but 75% were optimistic Americans could work together despite political difference. This year (2022), in response to a new question, 61% said the first Amendment can help us bridge those divisions.”

However, the quest for freedom of speech in today’s contentious society comes with a price. The survey revealed, “More than four in 10 people (45%) say they have, at least once, not expressed an opinion for fear of punishment. Nearly half (49%) have never shared a political opinion on social media. Younger Americans are more likely to say they have self-censored. As for political correctness, 58% of people believe it goes too far in hampering free speech.”

While it may be shocking to some, more than a third (36%) of these same respondents “think colleges and universities represent a threat to the First Amendment, perhaps a reflection of efforts by students, administrators and even lawmakers to curtail speech that represents controversial perspective.” In fact, more to the point, “Most people (59%) think college campuses should foster a free expression of ideas, even if those ideas are offensive to some.”

Be passionate, but also civil and respectful of another’s right to their own opinions — especially if they’re different from yours. It’s one of the foundations of our freedom as Americans — freedom to think freely and freedom to speak our own minds without fear of retribution.