 But they are essential to free people. In the old days, they did everything they could do to shut up the voice of critics, even the voice of God. Jeremiah's last years of work are some of the best illustration you'll ever find of how this actually went about. All Jeremiah did was go down to the city gate or up to the temple and preach. And he would stand up and people would gather around and he would speak to them and anybody who didn't want to listen to him could walk away.