Sam Adams, in spite of being the pre-eminent advocate of individual rights during the Revolution, was completely blocked from any influence in the governance of the newly-created country by the new 'establishment' of the rich and powerful 'founding fathers'. Human nature does not change and history always repeats itself. Learn from the past or suffer it again in the future. I believe that in this case his meaning can apply to the present -- that in spite of allowing ourselves to become the slaves of corporate propaganda, we are inherently free and can always assert that right. HOWEVER, in a system which(pun intended) systematically disenfranchises the majority and invalidates their votes, that freedom is not obtainable via the ballot box. Let us work for a true democracy!

From Wikipedia: In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson nominated Brandeis to become a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. However, his nomination was bitterly contested, partly because, as Justice William O. Douglas wrote, ■Brandeis was a militant crusader for social justice whoever his opponent might be. He was dangerous not only because of his brilliance, his arithmetic, his courage. He was dangerous because he was incorruptible. . . [and] the fears of the Establishment were greater because Brandeis was the first Jew to be named to the Court." He was eventually confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 47 to 22 on June 1, 1916, and would become one of the most famous and influential figures ever to serve on the high court. His case opinions were, according to legal scholars, some of the ■greatest defenses■ of freedom of speech and the right to privacy ever written by a member of the high court.