Is it time to ignite a new free speech movement in retaliation to the Trump regime, which wants to shut down the freedom of speech guaranteed in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?
To Wit: Amendment 1: Freedom of religion, speech, and the press:
Rights of assembly and petition.
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.
There you have it, written in 1791 and it still stands. The precise words of what is commonly known as the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States of America. It couldn’t be any clearer.
Still, throughout our 249 years (since our Declaration of Independence), the precepts of this guiding and rock-solid principle have been challenged, especially the singular provision guaranteeing the freedom of speech to its people, and the press and the free expression of any grievances to its government.
And now comes a government that has been chosen by a very small margin of the electorate, but nevertheless seeks to declare a mandate, when it comes to decisions regarding who has the right to practice freedom of speech and under what circumstances. This is not the first time for such overreach to be launched by a chief executive and his cabinet, and surely not the last. And once again, when pronouncements that violate free speech are declared from on high, they must be countered with equal vehemence.
In other words, we, the people, who are being told to shut up and disperse, must refuse and remain in place as it is our right to make our voices heard to the prevailing government, whether it likes it or not, with the proviso that we keep it peaceable.
Throughout our history, probably since the inception of this history, there have been those among us who have disagreed with the powers that be and have made that known to them, whether it be for civil rights, or putative human rights. From Martin Luther King’s historic peroration to share his dream for equal rights, not race-based rights; to Mario Savio’s invocation to put bodies on the wheel for student rights and free speech in Berkeley in 1964. The clarion call was heard throughout the land, and the many stood as one voice.
Now, once again, the jack boots of this current government are threatening to shut us down while challenging our right to make our voices heard. We are threatened with deportation; we are threatened with the loss of our jobs; we are threatened with being cut off from heard-earned entitlements; and we are being threatened by cultural police who would tell us how to think and how to use our bodies.
These threats come to us as disembodied voices from media personalities or social network talking heads that purport to tell us what to believe, what is right or wrong, and whom we should listen to. These are just voices coming out of a box and carrying no more credence than a dog’s barking. We must wake up and stop listening to such voices that feed us worthless information and nothing of any substance.
There is truth “out there” and there is a reality underneath the bullshit and falsehoods that prevail. It is up to us to seek and find what we can use and what’s of value, and when to cast aside all the crap that comes out of the mouths of venal politicians and those who do their dirty work. After all it’s just a bunch of empty words coming out of a box and signifying nothing, not a thing.
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