The lengthy drama that has played out in Minneapolis in recent weeks has exposed yet again that too many Americans misunderstand what constitutes free expression.
The First Amendment was designed by the framers to give citizens the rights to express themselves politically, religiously and culturally. Those protections allow people to express their thoughts and ideas. But that’s all the Constitution guarantees.
Somewhere along the way, provocateurs bastardized the concept of free expression. They have confused unlawful incitement as “messaging” and falsely portrayed actual behavior as “free speech.” Apologists consciously obfuscate action and expression, lumping all approaches of dissent into the same category…