The boundaries of self-expression are tested daily in the many spheres of our lives—the news we read or watch, the faiths we adhere to, the laws we follow or challenge, the votes we cast, and the views we express at home, at work, and in public. Freedom of expression is ingrained in who we are; so much so that we sometimes take it for granted. Teen Thoughts on Democracy is a curriculum designed to engage teens in exploring freedom of expression and the acts that often threaten it—intolerance and intimidation, media manipulation and spin, censorship and disinformation, and the common strategies of persuasion used in propaganda.
”Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

—First Amendment, Bill of Rights, United States Constitution, adopted in 1791