the Constitution guarantees total, absolute freedom of speech
Actually, the Constitution does, it's the government (specifically, the courts) that decided to add a few restrictions, ex post facto.
Whether or not that was a good thing is debatable, but the language in the Constitution could not be clearer: "no laws" means no laws, as in, zero. Nada. Zilch.
That we failed to live up to that ideal as a society is on us, not on the Constitution itself.
Actually, the Constitution does, it's the government (specifically, the courts) that decided to add a few restrictions, ex post facto.
Whether or not that was a good thing is debatable, but the language in the Constitution could not be clearer: "no laws" means no laws, as in, zero. Nada. Zilch.
That we failed to live up to that ideal as a society is on us, not on the Constitution itself.