We would become a lot less wussified if people would pop each other when somebody crosses a line with verbal abuse, but now the mostly worms like Cruz or Trump can say all kinds of horrible things and are protected because if anybody popped them they would go to jail. There was a time not that far in our country's history where a below the belt insult was an invitation for a duel.....I would prefer immediate fists because the worms would stop being worms.....but of course we live in a civilized nation which is full of worms, and our laws encourage worm behavior.
''[I]t is well understood that the right of free speech is not absolute at all times and under all circumstances. There are certain well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech, the prevention and punishment of which have never been thought to raise any Constitutional problem. These include the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or 'fighting' words--those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality.'' 97 - See more at: http://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1/annotation18.html#sthash.Rg0QGkDO.dpuf
''[I]t is well understood that the right of free speech is not absolute at all times and under all circumstances. There are certain well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech, the prevention and punishment of which have never been thought to raise any Constitutional problem. These include the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or 'fighting' words--those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality.'' 97 - See more at: http://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment1/annotation18.html#sthash.Rg0QGkDO.dpuf