The inherent, inalienable right to freedom of expression is agreed upon by nearly every American.

Driving south from the Sepulveda pass on LA’s 405 freeway the huge plumes of smoke rising to the east dominated drivers’ attention and pulled focus away from the beauty of the luxurious neighborhoods of Brentwood, Bel-Air and Beverly Hills.

It was 1992 and the Americans were at it again — making their voices heard.

The police officers accused of beating Black motorist Rodney King had been acquitted by a jury of their peers in a suburban LA courtroom — despite a graphic video showing the defendants’ violent and aggressive acts.

The public’s First Amendment constitutional right to express displeasure with the verdict resulted in damage, destruction, and even death that continued for several days.

Not even Rodney King’s plea to the public “Can’t we all just get along?” brought an end to the chaos, and 10,000 National Guard troops were deployed to Southern California.

We now have another outbreak of the exercise of free speech and request for the redress of grievances in LA as a result of President Trump’s immigration policy and the action of ICE in execution of the Trump plan.

Again LA is in the spotlight, again the National Guard has been called in, and again freedom of speech, expression and the appropriate exercise of First Amendment rights is a hot topic.

The inherent, inalienable right to freedom of expression is agreed upon by nearly every American. As famed Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo wrote — “Freedom of expression is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom.” Even Madonna rapped on MTV in 1990 that free speech is better than sex.

Despite this nearly universal agreement about the exalted position of the right to free speech — as with many things — the devil is in the details.

What is the line between protected expression and censorship and even criminality?

Regrettably, in 2025 America, that answer may depend on the content of the speech. Some who believe that looting, vandalism, and encampments that disrupt lives and commerce in support of George Floyd are protected expression — while at the same time they believe that January 6 protesters are rightfully incarcerated for 18 years. Some who hold that the January 6 sentences were an outrageous overreaction believe that the immigration protesters should all be deported — citizen or not.

Perhaps we all need to remember that the right to free speech arose from acts and expressions that included dressing in costume in the dark of night and dumping other people’s tea in the Boston Harbor.

When it comes to freedom of expression it may be best to err on the side of allowing MORE expression.

Maybe the right to speak and think freely is more important than the comfort of “all getting along.”

Philip Bovee is an attorney and writer who has lived in Pahrump since 2023.