How Comedy Saved Free Speech

There are a lot of claims of censorship wafting around public discourse, and article after article of think pieces claiming that the right to speak your mind has become embattled. To give this context, let’s talk about a different case of free speech and censorship. A situation where someone faced criminal charges for being offensive in America. This is the story of Lenny Bruce, the stand-up comic that went to bat to fight censorship. Maybe through his story, we can see how to save Freedom of Speech.

Special thanks to Danielle from The Origin of Everything

American history gets ever weirder and more interesting. Watch some more discussions of American history and culture here

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Step Back is a history channel releasing videos weekly that endeavours to go past the names, dates, and battles you might find elsewhere. It invites you to take a step back, consider the past and how it connects to today. We search for the quirky, unconventional, and just plain weird parts of our collective story.

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Colin W

Sources:

#history #comedy #freespeech

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Please watch: "Is America REALLY a Democracy?"

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