So long! Remembrance of things past
First Amendment News 500
Free speech is life itself.
— Salman Rushdie (1991)
Ponder Salman Rushdie’s line. Yes, free speech is a way of living, a way of inhaling the oxygen of liberty. Breathe deep, come alive with this experiment we call free speech. Risky? Of course. Yet life without risk is but a hollow existence. Take free speech out of the life equation, and what do you have? Tyranny, born of a life deprived of its vitality. To speak freely nourishes the human spirit. Feed on it, and defend it, even when its taste is bittersweet.
Map out a life course, or just sway to the rhythm of uncharted dreams, and soon enough the worth of free speech will manifest itself. At the bottom of every human heart is a yearning to express oneself, to give outer voice to one’s inner being. By that measure, free speech is less a legal right than a human need. To abridge it is to leave the soul tense, the kind that plagues it with an unbearable anxiety. We live, therefore we speak.
Those are some of the lessons I came to value, going back to my law school days, when Steve Shiffrin, my classmate (then a Whitmanesque free-speech romantic), first pointed me to the stars in the galaxy of free expression. Dissent was his creed; in time, it became mine. It is an essential component of the calculus of free speech. Such ideas opened up my life to a universe exploding with passion, philosophy, and poetry, along with flickers of truth shooting across the endless expanse of a dark sky.
Posting in the FIRE pit
There is a saying: “Tell your boss what you think of him, and truth will set you free.” True as that may be as an all-too-human proposition, it is untrue when it comes to working with FIRE’s folks. Believe me, I know — I’ve tested their free-speech patience several times over the years. Did they always agree? No! Even so, they never once censored me or even interfered with anything I wrote. In other words, they practiced what they preached. That says a lot in these times, when censorship is so often unleashed with wild abandon followed by no overt condemnation, even from so-called First Amendment groups.
In the course of more than half a century, I have never worked with a First Amendment group that has done more (and ably so!) in the service of free speech. Sometimes controversial, sometimes strange, and sometimes hard to accept, but so what? I mean, they are a First Amendment advocacy group. Get real!
In the rough and tumble of it all, FIRE plays no favorites, be you a Biden or Trump supporter, or whoever. And when it comes to lawyering (under the guidance of Bob Corn-Revere, Ronnie London, and Will Creeley), they are second to none. So, too, when it comes to astute and creative direction, Greg Lukianoff has no equal in the First Amendment world. Let me add Nico Perrino’s skills, which bring new insights to complex issues (see, e.g., his forthcoming book, currently titled “Let the Other Side Speak”).
Together with FIRE’s other teams (including those who do policy reform, public advocacy, research, communications, campus rights advocacy, and legislative work), they all have given new and vital life to our free-speech freedoms.
In the beginning: The ‘Concurring Opinions’ blog
It all started twelve years ago (February 10, 2014) on the Concurring Opinions blog — then edited by George Washington Law School Professor Daniel Solove.
The joys of being ‘on FIRE’
On February 20, 2019, FAN flew under a new flag: that of FIRE (then known as the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education). It began with issue number 201, with Jackie Farmer as my expert editor.
It’s been some 300 FAN posts since then! What a wondrous joy working with some of FIRE’s finest: Will Creeley, Jackie Farmer, Angel Eduardo (my skilled editor), and Nico Perrino, among others. And all of this under the extraordinary leadership of FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff.
Thank you all for allowing me to serve as an ex officio member of your team. Always helpful, continually thoughtful, and constantly creative, the folks at FIRE exemplify what is best in serving the free-speech public interest, which is a daring feat.
Bob Corn-Revere: Where do I begin?
I think too damn much of Bob to be able to express the full scope of my enormous respect for him. True, at times I’ve tested his tolerance. Even so, my wily ways must never be understood to discount the esteem I have for him as an exceptional free-speech lawyer, and the regard I have for him as a true friend.
Bob: We all owe you a great debt...and my debt is even greater.
Cameo Appearances
‘Can We Take a Joke?’ (FIRE, 2016)
With the ‘First Lady of Liberty’
Nadine Strossen and I first met in person at a conference in Barcelona. I got righteous on Nadine about the ACLU accepting money from the tobacco industry. We spoke, we disagreed, then chilled . . . and the rest has made for a beautiful friendship that has lasted and lasted. She is an amazing woman by any measure: her smarts, energy, passion, and kindness. Nadine, my dear friend, may we share many more tomorrows.
The company we keep: Some of the finest free-speech advocates I’ve known
Life is what we make it. By that measure, certain extraordinary people, when working in tandem with others similarly gifted, can change the cultural and constitutional equation for the better. Those pictured below (including, but not limited to, Floyd Abrams, Geof Stone, Lucy Dalglish, Lee Levine, Steve Vladeck, Paul McMasters, and Sandy Baron) are among the people I have had the privilege of knowing — people who have moved the free-speech needle.
And let me never forget my amazing friend and co-author of so many years and works: David Skover. With Sondheim-like creativity and Socratic-like rigor, he guided me through the thick and thin of thinking outside the box . . . and what a wondrous adventure it’s been!
Bruce Johnson: Who left us far too soon
Exceptional, generous, and a Renaissance man. What a brilliant First Amendment lawyer with an uninhibited passion for his calling. Bruce E.H. Johnson (1950-2024): He was my friend, and that of many others. Bruce’s unexpected passing weighs heavily on the hearts of those who knew this remarkable man; his intellect was amazing, his big-heartedness boundless, and he could also be profoundly witty.
See this First Amendment Salon tribute to Bruce.
By way of one sample, see: “Bruce Johnson responds to Judge Laurence Silberman’s attack on NYT v. Sullivan,” FAN 291 (March 24, 2021)
I miss so much about him — his wit and wisdom.
Farewell!
To tumble the dice enough times is
to know that the thrill is more
in the roll than in the reward.
As it is said, “all things must pass.” There comes a time! This 500th post seemed as good a time as any. The past sometimes lives on, but never as before. New times and new issues call for new people and new perspectives. While the future owes a debt to the past, it also owes an obligation to the future. And so it is, and so I move on.
Closing sentiment: In this journey, and in the days to come, may we all, and our Nation, too, fair well. . . Farewell!
It's been an honor and a pleasure working with you the last few years, Ron! Cheers to all the fantastic work you've done for free speech!
Thank you for the service, enlightenment, and good humor you've given to us all. We are in your debt.