Randy Evans is executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes openness and transparency in Iowa’s state and local governments. He can be reached at DMRevans2810@gmail.com. This essay first appeared on his Substack newsletter, Stray Thoughts.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice focused on manners and goodness, two virtues sometimes forgotten today.

Shortly before the novel was published, our Founding Fathers settled on the free exchange of ideas as one of the fundamental concepts they wanted to guarantee in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

But in 2025, an uncomfortable tug-of-war is occurring over pride and prejudice, expression and oppression.