That doesn't have anything to do with it. I'm German and I absolutely think that freedom of speech is the foremost thing every single person on this planet deserves to have. I'm also not stupid enough to believe every single person HAS that right. And with SOPA looming, every single person will lose that right and that's really scary.

I think you misunderstood my comment... and it wasn't really all that clear, so I apologize.

I was commenting on the fact that most Americans take their freedom of speech really seriously and know why it's important & expound on its importance beginning in elementary school. As an American reading the question "Why is free speech important?" it's like reading a question, "Why is having air to breathe important?"

I absolutely agree that free speech is fundamental. I'm perfectly aware that most of the world doesn't have meaningful free speech and that's actually why I mentioned livejournal's Russian ownership--Russia's free speech has been notoriously absent in the past and has been increasingly restricted recently.