The five freedoms guaranteed by our First Amendment are the freedom to practice religion any way we want, the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition our government for a redress of
The five freedoms guaranteed by our First Amendment are the freedom to practice religion any way we want, the freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, and the right to petition our government for a redress of grievances.
I’ll concentrate on our freedom of speech. Many other Western countries have such narrow prohibitions against what is deemed discriminatory or hate speech as to have no free speech at all. The United States once stood apart from all others in that regard, but today our freedom of speech is an endangered species. Political correctness has given way to official and self-censoring. The speech police work 24/7 and don’t miss a beat. Careers and lives have been destroyed in defense of the rights of this or that victim group.
The Heritage Guide to the Constitution tells us the free speech guarantee also extends to expressive conduct such as waving or burning the flag but in 2014 the 9th Circuit Court, the same Court usurping executive power from the president regarding his temporary immigration ban from terrorist hot zones, upheld a public school’s decision to ban students from wearing US flag T-shirts while permitting other students to wear Mexican patriotic shirts on Cinco de Mayo. Shockingly, the Supreme Court rejected the student’s free speech appeal and as so often happens, this will become bad legal precedent further eroding our First Amendment.
The demand for free speech in early America was seen as a defense against tyranny. It became a weapon to defy or help defeat authoritarian powers of the state. Under Sen. Harry Reid’s tutelage before he retired, the Senate voted 79-18 to advance a proposal to amend the Constitution giving Congress power to prohibit or restrict participation in political campaigns thereby gutting the First Amendment. In opposition to this, Sen. Cruz quoted Thomas Jefferson who opined that “Our Constitution would serve as chains to bind the mischief of government.” And this proposed amendment was certainly a mischievous act of government for the purpose of silencing citizens. “Taking this right of free speech away renders citizens mere subjects,” Cruz said.
Our own University of Hawaii in Hilo was challenged and settled a lawsuit which resulted from restricting students from handing out copies of the Constitution on campus. The Bill of Rights does not limit where free speech is allowed, but UH had a policy requiring students to get permission and to then be restricted to a tiny, out of the way area to practice this ‘freedom’ of speech.
Too many colleges and universities today shut out any speech that does not agree with the normative liberal, progressive world view. One has to wonder about the journalists attending the recent White House Correspondents Dinner congratulating themselves for upholding the First Amendment begging the question, where were they when conservative speakers lives were threatened or endangered and property destroyed at Berkeley, Middlebury, UCLA and many other supposed settings of higher learning? We have a lot of ground to regain if we are to remain free citizens and not subjects.
As citizens of a free republic it is our duty to preserve it. If you would like to take a free online course on the U. S. Constitution go to: www.freeconstitutioncourse.com.
Mikie Kerr is a Waikoloa resident and Constitutional enthusiast who writes a monthly opinion column for West Hawaii Today.
