The First Amendment (from 1791):
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
45 words. That's it. These are the only 45 words in the entire world that protects by law full stop the right for all people to speak and assemble.
This basic universal principle humans have been fighting for over centuries is taken for granted for the tidal wave of tyranny continues to crash against the dams of freedom.
Speech isn't protected anywhere else - not in Canada, not in the UK, not in EU nor anywhere else - like it is in the United States of America.
And it's under severe distress.
For the time being, only the 'eternal vigilance' of a few are fighting for it (with a strong hand from the Supreme Court as it continues to generally fall on the side of the First Amendment) against reactionary forces. At the moment, the vast majority of that stress is coming by way of the progressive left. It is in their ranks we consistently see calls for either ignoring or rewriting or changing The Constitution. It is their claim it's an antiquated documented (despite its timeless and universal themes and principles applicable to all humanity) written by 'old, dead white slave owners' (further proof critical thinking and historical knowledge is on the wane).
I don't think people grasp what's at stake. If the 1A falls - free speech falls. Not the ones you happen to disapprove of (aka hate speech) but all speech.
My advice to all citizens is ignore outright a politician that ever questions, even peripherally, the 1A and the right to free speech, opinion and assembly. In fact, they should be swiftly condemned.
Do people not understand this?
The 1A was designed to protect YOUR RIGHT to speak.
It didn't specify anywhere (for obvious good reason and sense) speech is to be 'balanced' (which is just an example and symbol of where we stand intellectually on the matter). Nor did it make the point of parsing 'love' from 'hate' speech; 'beautiful' from 'ugly'. It didn't say, 'Only the written beauty of Moliere and Shakespeare shall henceforth be the standard by which all speech is measured.'
As I write this, BLM students have covered the statue of Thomas Jefferson at the very university he founded - the University of Virginia.
Jefferson held a nuanced view on slavery. He and his co-foudners did indeed consider it a foul institution but given the priorities of the times, it was first necessary to create an independent state given their limited time and resources. They couldn't dedicate all their energies to it. Rather, they put their trust into the hands of their compatriots to one day deal with the matter at a later time. It was, I reckon, a simple act of realpolitik on their part. Which is exactly what happened. It was the West that put an end to the practice of slavery - which still happens in Asia and Africa.
The calculus was simple: Establish the country, set in writing its governing principles and laws, and then tackle the ills that need attention.
It's a logical fallacy to obsess over slaver given the gigantic task facing the budding new nation. One in which that defies the facts of history and going back to 'cover' it solves absolutely nothing. You don't attack the heart of a nation's identity. Without The Constitution and the Founding Fathers, there is no America. There is no right to anything as a sovereign human being. Nothing.
Ironically, BLM and Antifa - who are claiming to fight injustice and fascism - are attacking the very document and people who laid the foundation for their right to protest. They're, in effect, reactionary forces with a pointless nihilistic streak.
Jefferson was one of the last great minds of The Enlightenment in the Age of Reason.
In order for a society to truly progress, the minds that replace its ancestors have to surpass them.
Do you think this is the case?
I don't.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
45 words. That's it. These are the only 45 words in the entire world that protects by law full stop the right for all people to speak and assemble.
This basic universal principle humans have been fighting for over centuries is taken for granted for the tidal wave of tyranny continues to crash against the dams of freedom.
Speech isn't protected anywhere else - not in Canada, not in the UK, not in EU nor anywhere else - like it is in the United States of America.
And it's under severe distress.
For the time being, only the 'eternal vigilance' of a few are fighting for it (with a strong hand from the Supreme Court as it continues to generally fall on the side of the First Amendment) against reactionary forces. At the moment, the vast majority of that stress is coming by way of the progressive left. It is in their ranks we consistently see calls for either ignoring or rewriting or changing The Constitution. It is their claim it's an antiquated documented (despite its timeless and universal themes and principles applicable to all humanity) written by 'old, dead white slave owners' (further proof critical thinking and historical knowledge is on the wane).
I don't think people grasp what's at stake. If the 1A falls - free speech falls. Not the ones you happen to disapprove of (aka hate speech) but all speech.
My advice to all citizens is ignore outright a politician that ever questions, even peripherally, the 1A and the right to free speech, opinion and assembly. In fact, they should be swiftly condemned.
Do people not understand this?
The 1A was designed to protect YOUR RIGHT to speak.
It didn't specify anywhere (for obvious good reason and sense) speech is to be 'balanced' (which is just an example and symbol of where we stand intellectually on the matter). Nor did it make the point of parsing 'love' from 'hate' speech; 'beautiful' from 'ugly'. It didn't say, 'Only the written beauty of Moliere and Shakespeare shall henceforth be the standard by which all speech is measured.'
As I write this, BLM students have covered the statue of Thomas Jefferson at the very university he founded - the University of Virginia.
Jefferson held a nuanced view on slavery. He and his co-foudners did indeed consider it a foul institution but given the priorities of the times, it was first necessary to create an independent state given their limited time and resources. They couldn't dedicate all their energies to it. Rather, they put their trust into the hands of their compatriots to one day deal with the matter at a later time. It was, I reckon, a simple act of realpolitik on their part. Which is exactly what happened. It was the West that put an end to the practice of slavery - which still happens in Asia and Africa.
The calculus was simple: Establish the country, set in writing its governing principles and laws, and then tackle the ills that need attention.
It's a logical fallacy to obsess over slaver given the gigantic task facing the budding new nation. One in which that defies the facts of history and going back to 'cover' it solves absolutely nothing. You don't attack the heart of a nation's identity. Without The Constitution and the Founding Fathers, there is no America. There is no right to anything as a sovereign human being. Nothing.
Ironically, BLM and Antifa - who are claiming to fight injustice and fascism - are attacking the very document and people who laid the foundation for their right to protest. They're, in effect, reactionary forces with a pointless nihilistic streak.
Jefferson was one of the last great minds of The Enlightenment in the Age of Reason.
In order for a society to truly progress, the minds that replace its ancestors have to surpass them.
Do you think this is the case?
I don't.
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