Providence Journal
March 8, 2020
The First Amendment is the foundation of all of our freedoms. That is why it stands atop our Bill of Rights, which spells out strict limits on the government’s power to crush individuals and deny them their liberty.
Under the First Amendment, Congress — and, by extension, state legislatures — “shall make no law abridging freedom of the press.”
Freedom of the press has been of incalculable value to the people of the United States. It has brought to light corruption and other problems that powerful officials would rather have suppressed. It has informed the American people about the issues so that they may govern themselves. It has righted injustice and championed justice.
Given the hunger for power — reflected in the gnawing desire of some politicians to micromanage people’s lives — the First Amendment provides an essential check against tyranny. Many politicians would like nothing better than to shut up the public and have their way. Certainly, this is how authoritarian regimes function.
