Even if it's not a violation of the First Amendment, it's close enough that it flips the responsibility. Now the government needs to continually convince people that it's not a violation.

America is about freedom and limited government. That means some policy options are off the table or treated with extreme skepticism.

It's a violation of basic freedoms, that's true, but it's not one without reason (hence my example). I do agree with you that measures like this require constant justification, as would be the case in any democracy. I do not think that flouting these measures arbitrarily is the best way to achieve this.