Obama speaks about the great things that can be done with free speech, peaceful protest and open debates leaving Americans wondering can we have that too?
On March 22, President Obama while visiting Cuba made an address directly to the people of Cuba highlighting the changes the United States went through in 1959 “people organized. They protested, they debated these issues, they challenged government officials. And because of those protests and because of those debates and because of popular mobilization, I’m able to stand here today as an African American and as president of the United States.” The unfortunate reality is these freedoms have been under attack since the 1960’s and most of these historical events could never occur today.
There hasn’t been an open Presidential debate in the US in over 25 years. We have an illusion of open debates but the reality is the established parties have setup a system that refuses to include anyone outside of their party. The Libertarian Party filed a lawsuit September 29, 2025 trying once again to provide America with free and open presidential debate.
Our rights to protest and voice our free speech have been under attack since the 60’s the scariest violation of our rights today can be found in HR 347 this was passed in 2012 making it a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison to protest near a person under Secret Service protection. This law has been used multiple times during the current election cycle to charge individuals with federal felonies while supporters of candidates receive lesser state charges.
This leaves Americans wondering President Obama when you get back to the United States can we have the rights and freedoms promised to the Cubans?