Are you allowed to talk about your ideas and opinions with your family? At school? In public? Free speech is an important part of fixing problems that people have at home, at school and in the government. People should not be afraid to share their thoughts. But in countries with no free speech, people can be arrested by the police if the government does not like what they are saying. Even the things that people write or wear are a part of free speech, how people express themselves and who they are.
For over 50 years, the people in the Czech Republic did not have free speech. Every day, people who talked about their religion were sent to coal mines to work and live. People who said bad things about the government were taken away to jail. People were even scared to tell their closest friends their thoughts, because sometimes even friends and relatives could be a spies for the government.
People also were not allowed to listen to music from Western Europe and United States, because the government did not like the ideas spread by the lyrics of the songs. The government even banned one of the most popular bands of all time, The Beatles, who were from the United Kingdom. Even so, the Czech people did not give in to their strict and punishing government. Bands such as The Beatles were still very popular.
