Reply #87: I share the view of Justice Brennan; and of Justice Holmes [View All]

[onenote]

Brennan wrote: "If there is a bedrock principle of the First Amendment,
it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea
simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."


That same thought was expressed numerous times by Justice Holmes, whose statement quoted in the OP was never intended to be a license to regulate speech, but rather was an expression of the narrowness of the circumstances in which the government can dictate what can and can't be said.

As Holmes explained in later cases:

“If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other it is the principle of free thought — not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate....I think that we should be eternally vigilant against attempts to check the expression of opinions that we loathe and believe to be fraught with death, unless they so imminently threaten immediate interference with the lawful and pressing purposes of the law that an immediate check is required to save the country."

Finally, I would pose the following question to the OP: How do you respond to those who claim that flag burners and others who speak out against the government "presents a real threat to our freedoms, our constitution and our country"?