Page:Johnson v. State.pdf/13

488 one of the noblest characteristics of the late revolution. The freemen of America did not wait until usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise and entangled the question in precedents. They saw all the consequences in the principle and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle. We revere this lesson too much, soon to forget it."

An excerpt from "Democracy in Government," by John J. Parker, senior United States circuit judge, Fourth district, is well worth repeated consideration. "From the standpoint of the happiness of the individual, as well as from that of the development of the life of society," says Judge Parker, "no rights of the individual are more important than those relating to the free expression of personality, by which I mean freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly, all guaranteed by the first amendment to, the constitution of the United States. The essential dignity of man's nature depends upon his relation to the infinite, and this depends upon his right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience. The free expression of his thought and the right to share that thought with others are necessary to his intellectual growth and happiness. Free expression of views  is necessary for the dissemination of intelligence and the correction of error

"While all of these rights are of the first order of importance, I would speak particularly of freedom of speech, because it is always in danger. Truth is apprehended in the mind of the individual. Its progress is slow and fraught with difficulties; and only by free expression can it hope to gain acceptance by the majority in the community. The history of human thought is one continuous process of the triumph of ideas which upon their first expression were condemned as error by the learned and the powerful. Progress is dependent upon the advance of truth; and this in turn is dependent upon the right of men to give free expression to any view they may entertain. To the objection that free speech may lead to the propagation of error, the answer is that truth is able to take care of itself in a contest,