Very well said - and inspired me to chime in.

We have much less freedom than we think, and the freedom we do have we pay a very high price for. I often use the phrase "What price freedom?" in conversations, and unfortunately most don't understand what it means.

What does it mean?

I think of it as having these meanings:

1. Your freedom can cause problems to me an to society as a whole

2. We pay much in blood and treasure to maintain our freedom

3. There are unintended consequences and knock-on effects to most all rules regarding freedom.

Or to generalize: "Freedom isn't free"

But there isn't an enlightened centrist middle ground here where we allow all speech off of principle. First off, because that has never happened in American history (or any country's history?). So there is no good ol days to look back on when speech was more free. Second of all, people are way too stupid to process information on their own. Governments are at their best when they are paternalistic, that's why we have seatbelts, no lead in gasoline etc. Of course the question is "who can decide what's good for you?" but it's definitely not Florida's government. Or the demographic that frequently shows up on r/hermancainaward

> Governments are at their best when they are paternalistic, that's why we have seatbelts, no lead in gasoline etc.

The same paternalism has justified poisoning one's own people in a "war" against alcohol, dictated who was allowed to have sex with whom in privacy of their own home, and resulted in human experimentation for the supposed betterment of society.

Of course the law should dictate who you sleep with. In the 13 colonies adultery was rightly a capital crime.