Chicago Tribune

Commentary: Bookstores are a refuge for freedom of speech while censors on both sides wage battle

A worker at The Gallery Bookstore in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood removes water from a window Nov. 10, 2020.

Freedom of speech is forever embattled. That is its nature. Easy to assent to in the abstract, the principle becomes more challenging when the speech at issue assails one’s most cherished values. Polls over the years have consistently reflected this dynamic. “Of course I support freedom of speech,” respondents say, “but not for that sort of speech.”

The current state of turmoil over this freedom, however, feels different. I know of

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