[PepsiFree]

I guess I just wonder if there is a point to continuously talking about a theoretical concept of an idea that exists only in a philosophical sense when almost everywhere in the world has an actual, tangible example of a way it works (to varying degrees).

The cartoon pretty clearly illustrates the actual version of free speech that works in the real world. No, it does not describe the philosophical ideal, but that is generally better left to classrooms and books that look good on the shelf when you have mountains upon mountains of historical and current evidence that shows the philosophical "ideal" doesn't actually exist in practice.

Pretty sure most people talk about the real world application of key ideas when discussing matters that actually occur.

That's generally how we treat communism. Great theory, but the real world application makes the theory irrelevant, since we can actually see how it's applied when impacted by the human condition (hint: not like the theory!)