In essence, the first amendment prohibits the federal government from "abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press," in other words, censorship. The Founders were seeking to limit the powers of the state to restrict pushback from the citizenry against state policies or decisions. But this doesn't mean "everything is protected as 'free speech.'" For example, a drunk in a bar who shouts, "You're worthless, you suck!" at other patrons is not protected by the First Amendment. What we thought was free speech and what is free speech are two different things. Everybody seems to think free speech is a free-for-all in the speech environment. But, that is not exactly correct.