Freedom of speech

It is not enough to have freedom of speech if we are not brave enough to speak what our heart feels and our mind knows. Politicians stand in front of the door of free speech, with all their puffery and false bravado, but they know they are  protecting a vacuum of ideas. They don't have the courage to make sense of events. They are the ambitious class vice-presidents and presidents we voted for in high school, whose mindsets and acuity have never progressed beyond that scope of understanding.  They understand freedom of speech. They just don't understand that freedom of speech is meaningless without the courage to speak.