Free speech: what it means

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the freeexercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of thepeople peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

First Amendment to the United States Constitution

From the pages rolling off our printing presses in downtown Winona, this newspaper is the First Amendment in action.

We tell you the news, our focus often on local government.

We invite you to assemble by printing your own calls for action.

We post religious gatherings, from churches that planted stones more than 150 years ago to the newest places to worship in new ways.

We celebrate your stories on these pages. You offer your opinions, your convictions, and your intimate knowledge of our region.

Together we share this mission: creating a narrative without a reaching arm of government that censors, one that limits the dialogue fundamental to democracy.

As a newspaper, we take this job very seriously.

Next week is Free Speech Week, a time to reflect on what the First Amendment really means. In the coming editions, the Winona Post will explore the rights granted by the First Amendment with an emphasis on freedom of speech and freedom of the press. First in the series is a look at the role of newspapers in both defining, and continually upholding, the right to free speech in America.

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Free speech: what it means