Jim Hightower

There’s an unfortunate tendency in our country for autocratic officials to clamp down on our fundamental rights of free speech and assembly – especially when the Powers That Be don’t like what we are gathering together to say. On the other hand, our country is blessed with rebels who have a fortunate tendency to push back against the autocrats.

At the 2004 Republican national convention in New York City, protesters against the Iraq war planned a mass demonstration on what’s known as the Great Lawn of Central Park. They intended to make public use of this public land, but were curtly denied a permit. Why? Officials said that protesters would harm the grass of the Great Lawn, and that an unwritten regulation allowed only crowds of 50,000 or less to be on the 13-acre lawn at one time. Excuse us, said the protest leaders, but much larger crowds have routinely been allowed there for concerts and other events. Indeed, before our application, they said, there have been no limits on crowd size. Go away, said the officials.

Well, while they were shut out of the people’s park for the duration of the political convention, the groups did not go away. Instead, they filed suit in federal court, charging the city with unlawful denial of their First Amendment rights. Finally, after three years of litigation, city officials have backed away from their unconstitutional position and settled the case.

In this important victory for free speech, the city will pay $500,000 in legal costs that the groups incurred, and officials will no longer set an arbitrary limit on protest numbers, nor deny access to the Great Lawn on political grounds.

This is Jim Hightower saying… Our freedom and democratic rights were not "won" for us by the founders back in the 1700s. Rather, democracy is a historic fight that we must constantly re-win, a fight that depends on Americans remaining rebellious.