But what I've realised recently is that "free speech" is more than just a legal right conferred by the government, it's a social climate. The climate of free speech is even more important than the government right, because if the climate is lost then people will start demanding that the government abolish the legal right too.
A social climate of free speech means a society in which people are accustomed to hearing things they find disagreeable, and don't flip out every time they do.
It means that although people hypothetically can punish each other for views they find disagreeable by means such as boycotting their businesses or shouting at them when they try to speak, they manage to refrain from doing so in all but the most egregious half a percent of cases, and generally tolerate disagreement.
This is what we're in danger of losing at the moment, and if this is lost then the legal right can't be far behind.