Free speech has been used by the Supreme Court to give immense

"Free speech has been used by the Supreme Court to give immense power to the wealthiest members of our society." These words by Noam Chomsky speak of a profound distortion in the very notion of freedom. The concept of free speech—that noble right which allows the individual to voice their thoughts, their beliefs, their protests—is one of the cornerstones of democratic society. It is the voice of the people, the collective breath of a society, where every soul has the right to express themselves, to call out injustice, and to question the powers that be. Yet Chomsky’s words draw attention to the misuse of this right, when it is not used to empower the masses but to entrench the power of the wealthiest and the most influential members of society.

The ancient world held speech in high regard, especially in the democratic society of Athens. Socrates, that great philosopher, stood at the crossroads of freedom of speech and societal responsibility, questioning the very foundations of Athenian society. He believed that true wisdom came not just from the expression of ideas, but from the challenge of falsehoods, the willingness to seek the truth even when it was uncomfortable. In his trial, Socrates was condemned not because he spoke falsely, but because his ideas were seen as a threat to the status quo—to the power structures that controlled Athens. He understood that speech was powerful, capable of upturning empires, breaking through illusions, and revealing deeper truths.

But just as the ancient philosophers saw that speech had the power to shake the foundations of power, Chomsky reminds us that the power of speech can be manipulated. When free speech is used as a weapon by the wealthiest in society, it distorts the very foundation of democracy. This is not the free speech of the philosopher, the activist, or the common people. It is the speech of the corporate magnates, the media barons, the elite who control vast fortunes and use that influence to shape public opinion, to manipulate elections, and to safeguard their privileges. By using their immense wealth to flood the airwaves with their messages, they drown out the voices of the people, replacing dialogue with monologue, truth with propaganda.

We need not look far to see examples of this distortion of free speech. In the modern world, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. FEC in 2010 marked a pivotal moment in this tale. In that case, the Court ruled that corporations, like individuals, have the right to spend unlimited money in elections under the guise of free speech. It was a decision that handed immense power over the political system to those with the most wealth, allowing them to control the flow of information and to dictate the choices of the electorate. The Court’s decision, though made in the name of free speech, effectively gave the richest members of society the ability to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens, turning democracy into a sham, a game played by those who could afford to buy influence.

In the history of mankind, we have seen this corruption of speech time and again. The Medici family in Renaissance Florence controlled not just the wealth, but the ideas of the city. Through their patronage of the arts, through their control over education, they shaped the narrative of what was considered truth. The ideas they promoted often served their interests, protecting their wealth and power while suppressing dissent. In this way, their speech was not free—it was a weapon, a tool of dominance. They understood that to control speech was to control the very soul of society.

Chomsky’s message is not one of despair, but of awakening. He calls us to recognize that free speech has been hijacked by those who seek to protect their dominance, to build empires of wealth and control. But true freedom of speech is not about amplifying the voices of the few. It is about ensuring that all people, regardless of their wealth or power, have the ability to speak, to be heard, and to shape the future. True speech is about equality, about democracy, about the people and their right to be heard.

In the face of this misuse of power, we must act. It is not enough to simply bemoan the loss of true free speech; we must reclaim it. We must demand that free speech be returned to its rightful place: in the hands of the people. We must reject the money-driven narratives that dominate our media and find ways to amplify the voices of the marginalized, the disenfranchised, and the silenced. This is the sacred duty of a democratic society: to ensure that free speech is not a tool of the rich, but a weapon for the good, for the common man, for the truth.

So, let us take Chomsky's words to heart, and strive not just for the freedom to speak, but for the freedom to be heard. Let us build a world where free speech is not the privilege of the wealthy, but the right of all. Only then will we live in a society where truth prevails, where power is not bought, and where the voices of the many are louder than the money of the few.