We've come a long way to expressing our opinions and ideas. Freedom of speech, unbeknownst to many of us, has been around since the ancient Greeks have advocated democracy in 5th B.C. Around a couple centuries before that, Islamic caliphs used freedom of rational expression to convert enemies into supporters.

True freedom of speech was manifested in the invention of the printing press. Even back then, the government had tried to curb this freedom by controlling license to reproduce reading materials.

In 1546, in fact, the French government had Etienne Dolet, who owned a printer, burned at the stake.

The famous philosopher John Stuart Mill was one of the strongest advocates of freedom of speech. In his view, if people are repressed from voicing their ideas and opinions, there won't be much progress in our society.

Censorship has become the bane of our right to freedom of speech. But the truth is, history shows that freedom has prevailed and we have become a progressive nation because we were able to speak for our behalf.

In the Internet age, we are entering a new evolution in this kind of freedom. We are at the cusp of a great transition that none of us would have imagined. Read on for more!