A documentary look at the evolution of the concept of free speech throughout the United States' history, and a specific examination of the balancing act between protecting civil liberties and national security in a post-9/11 world. Despite the First Amendment, is all speech equally free? As a living document, the U.S. Constitution is subject to changing interpretations; court cases that have alternatively broadened and narrowed the amendment's protections. But its greatest challenge may be the government that seized on the 9/11 tragedy as unprecedented license to surveil, intimidate, arrest, and detain citizens. The eternal question is: Do Americans ever benefit by limiting the scope of the First Amendment? Noted attorney Martin Garbus serves as tour guide, with examples drawn from recent controversies in education, and protest movements past and present.