Nothing divides Americans like the question of free speech: What it means, who deserves it and who does not. Conservatives like to complain about being "censored" or "canceled" for their attacks on LGBTQ rights or mask mandates, but lately have started trying to impose all kinds of restrictions on speech in education, especially on issues of gender identity, sexual orientation and race.
When it comes to the legendary Eugene Victor Debs, however — a leading labor and political activist in the late 19th and early 20th century — there's just no question: He was a martyr for free speech and a case study in overcoming oppression. When Debs was sent to prison for speaking truth to "the man" — and in this case, it really was The Man, meaning President Woodrow Wilson — he fought back by deciding to run for president himself.
