Free debate doesn't do much when the people in power have no motivation to change, and when even small wins (like net neutrality) are so easily undone. I really

Free debate doesn't do much when the people in power have no motivation to change, and when even small wins (like net neutrality) are so easily undone. I really don't think the gap is as large as you might think. The US is a bit more liberal in its allowances of public discourse than China but at the end of the day US media mostly serves to maintain the status quo; you're not going to make any real lasting change via freedom of speech alone. Also look at actual movements within the US which have made an impact on people's lives and see how the US state has cracked down on them, the Black Panthers are a good example of this.