Freedom of Speech, or the right to express oneself, verbally and in writing, as one chooses, and how, when, to whom, and in what manner one chooses, is a guarantee of all American citizens, protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Specifically, the First Amendment to the Constitution states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances1". It is my opinion that freedom of speech has always been, and remains, a necessary component of any open society. However, the political and social value of freedom of speech tends to become forgotten when a people feel that they are unsafe, or begin to feel threatened by their own peers (current American fear of terrorism "from within" is one such example; another was the reticence of many Americans, in the run-up to the Iraq War, to speak out against it for fear of seeming "unpatriotic". At times such as these, freedom of speech can easily give way to both censorship and self-censorship. It is my opinion, however, that freedom of speech must be protected by law, and insisted upon by individual citizens and groups, to the full extent of the U.S. Constitution, within popular, unpopular, and ambiguous national circumstances alike. .

             From time to time, freedom of speech also is threatened, or comes under attack, within academic, corporate, or other public circumstances or settings. For example, University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill recently came under attack for comments he made in a public speech, in which he compared victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, those who happened to be working inside New York"s World Trade Center that day and perished, to cogs in Hitler"s war machine.