The censorship that occurred in the first World War was of massive proportion and affected almost every single American. It is one of the greatest affronts to the First Amendment and the principals the United States that has ever occurred, yielding to slavery and Japanese internment during World War II. The censorship that occurred during this period, however, was eventually struck down by the Supreme Court, and today the country enjoys unequalled freedom of speech and expression, never before seen even in the history of the country. It is imperative that the United States maintain this freedom, as the censorship of World War I coincided with one of the most xenophobic and repressed times in the country's history. Of course, this does not mean that the censorship directly caused these conditions, but it certainly did not help them, as shown by the mobs of people who acted to restrain speech they disagreed with. Now, that is not to say that all speech should be allowed at all times (like shouting "fire" in a crowded theater, when it's a risk to public safety), but the need for censorship must be a heavy burden of proof. A healthy discourse is the basis of the democratic republic that is the United States, and ideas should not be silenced if one disagrees with them, but they must be refuted and strongly at that. However, one should never have to use force to change someone's mind. The current state of discourse in the United States leaves much to be desired. Too many viewpoints are being dismissed by one side or another out of hand, for the simple reason that one disagrees with the opinion. If one disagrees with someone, it is their duty to inform the other party of their disagreement; however, that is not to say that disagreement should be used to divide people - they should be used to find common ground and to work out a solution. This did not happen in WWI; one side was silenced, and the other screamed out in triumph, leading to the punishment of people simply for their beliefs without expressing their beliefs simply as speech. Censorship in World War I is important because it gives the chance to explore how and why the voices of so many were silenced during this period, so that such things will not happen again.