Alexis de Tocqueville, the political theorist revered by many of my conservative peers, believed that an unlimited freedom to associate for political goals was essential in preventing a tyranny of the majority. When associations remain free, secret societies remain scarce — and it’s better to have factions than conspirators.
He called this freedom the “mother science,” one which every citizen can study and apply. This reasoning, shared by the Founding Fathers, has led the Supreme Court to continuously grant American’s political (and religious) expression the most legal protections.
The right to criticize government, therefore, is not a mere aspect of the First Amendment, it is its very reason for being. The freedom to protest American foreign policy decisions is exactly what the First Amendment is all about, which leads me to ask: Where have all the conservatives who love the Constitution gone when restraint is abandoned in the name of shutting down the........