Defending the First Amendment is not a ‘special interest’

In October 2005, I proudly raised my right hand and swore that as a United States Marine, I would defend our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This oath separated me from my family for long periods of time and took me to dangerous places like Iraq.

I gladly made these sacrifices and would do so again because I believe this idea is worth defending at all costs.

{mosads}As a civilian working for Concerned Veterans for America (CVA), I continue to uphold my oath.

And the thousands of grassroots CVA volunteers and supporters across the country share my commitment.

Founded by combat veterans and led by Executive Director Mark Lucas, an Army Ranger and Afghan war veteran who currently serves in the Iowa National Guard, CVA aims to preserve the freedoms we fought and sacrificed to defend.

Today, we are alarmed when those freedoms come under attack here at home, such as when state governments attempt to limit free speech, Americans’ most fundamental freedom. In Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina, and elsewhere, government and elected officials have sought to force private organizations to reveal their supporters’ personal information. 

There is a “vital relationship between freedom to associate and privacy in one’s association,” the Supreme Court declared in the 1958 NAACP vs. Patterson case.

By invading that privacy, these disclosure laws are a clear assault on freedom of association and speech. These policies silence dissent and chill public debate — and that is the goal of their sponsors.

CVA refuses to tolerate such attacks on American freedoms, and for this we were criticized.

A recent attack charged that our modest $5,000 online advertising campaign that we launched June 28 as part of our effort to defend the First Amendment was disrespectful to our nation’s founders and veterans, and further claimed that anonymity in political discourse poses a threat to our democracy.

This is an absurd argument to make at any time, but particularly as we celebrated our nation’s birth—as patriotic displays go, a defense of free speech is right up there with fireworks and parades. 

It was Thomas Paine’s anonymously released pamphlet Common Sense that sparked the American Revolution. “Without the pen of the author of ‘Common Sense, the sword of Washington would have been raised in vain,’” John Adams declared.

Under the pseudonym “Publius,” Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay eloquently pleaded the case for ratification of the Constitution. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and others also recognized the value of anonymous speech, which allows listeners to evaluate arguments solely on their merits, without a preconceived bias toward the speaker.

Anonymous speech is not dangerous to free people, who are, as the Supreme Court put it, “intelligent enough to evaluate the source of an anonymous writing.” Instead, anonymous speech is dangerous to corrupt or oppressive governments, which throughout history, people like Thomas Paine have been able to “criticize…anonymously or not at all,” as the Court noted in 1960. 

Whether anonymous or identified, free speech acts as a bulwark, repelling government threats to our liberties. And it has enabled Americans to advance the promise of freedom, from women’s suffrage, to the civil rights movement, to the critical issues of our day.

The unfettered and open exchange of ideas has made ours the greatest nation in history — a nation that millions have fought and died to protect. The veterans and volunteers at CVA will continue to unapologetically defend free speech across the country.

Dan Caldwell is the director of policy for Concerned Veterans for America, which says its mission is to promote freedom and receives funding from donors across the country as well as the Charles and David Koch brothers.

The views of contributors are their own and not the views of The Hill.