#333 / Free Speech

I am not a fan of Debra J. Saunders, who claims to be the "token conservative" on the staff of the San Francisco Chronicle. I did, however, very much appreciate a quotation contained in her column published on Sunday, November 27, 2011.

Saunders quoted U.S. District Judge Marsha Berzon as saying:

Throughout our nation's history, Americans have counted on the First Amendment to protect their right to ask their fellow citizens to change their mind.

I like that way of talking about the First Amendment. Admitting the possibility that we, and others, might "change our minds," is the sine qua non of democratic self-government.

First we change our minds. Then we change the world.