Free speech is under assault in the U.S. today as it has not been in a long time. Although a great many voices are engaged in the effort to preserve it, very few are speaking up for property rights. But if we fail to restore property rights to their
Without secure rights of private property, no other rights are possible. Consider: I may erect a Christmas creche in my own front yard, but not in the town square. I may carry a concealed gun on my own land, but not on the public streets of most American cities. I may smoke in my own home, but not in a "public" restaurant in most states.
Free speech, at first glance, seems to belie this principle. On our public sidewalks and town squares freedom of speech is as secure as it has ever been. But in a country of 320 million souls, a speech given in a town square is insignificant unless its contents can be transmitted to a wider audience. And that is where private property comes in.