First Amendment: Freedom of Speech
Is the freedom to say what we feel, actually beneficial at times?
Why is this such an essential component of our freedoms? Well, picture it, if you will. You wake up one morning to discover that overnight, a controversial issue arose within your government. Without any checks or balances, they've decided that you, as a people group, will now be mandated under the death penalty to give up a portion of all agriculture grown on your property to your government! Due to a combination of issues, such as a terrible drought, you disagree with it, as you also have a family to feed. Of course, you’re upset, but what can you do!?
This is the government we’re talking about here. And no laws are stopping them from doing so.
So you begrudgingly do so because you value your life and your family. You think, If only I could stop them from forcing me to comply or die a painful death.
So as time goes on, the people are oppressed even further because rarely ever does a government that gets a taste for blood back off and think about the implications of its actions.
After some time, there starts to develop underground pockets of people who are dissatisfied with the said government and their totalitarian approach to operating the country…
You become a group of resistance fighters who, if ever caught, would die a slow, painful death at the hands of the oppressors! But it’s hardly ever the Hollywood version of resistance fighters. It’s not pretty.
And the story goes on and on with a dismal outcome. Believe it or not. That occurs in the world more than one would initially think.
The daily oppression regular citizens in other countries deal with and the incredible level of persecution. Then you have countries like china which are pretty “developed” in one sense or another but are extremely totalitarian. Where merely expressing unpopular opinions or making “unpopular” decisions results in you having a low social score, which could be the simple result of liking the wrong content or agreeing with the incorrect political statement.
And here in America, we have people of all backgrounds who say they can’t handle simple life scenarios because… “words hurt their feelings.”
Come off it, seriously! Those awake may not agree with over half the garbage this country pushes out on the “news” or “mass media outlets.”
But I'm at least aware of how good we truly have it in this country, even with a rotten vegetable as a president or, more aptly, a seat holder for the bidding of the people pulling the strings.
I digress; let’s get to the meat of this article.
Here’s Madison’s original draft of the portion of the 1st amendment discussing the ‘Freedom of Speech.’
”The people shall not be deprived or abridged of their right to speak, to write, or to publish their sentiments; and the freedom of the press, as one of the great bulwarks of liberty, shall be inviolable.”
Yet another critical factor that we’ll be visiting in the following newsletter is the “freedom of the press.” <we may be changing things up in the next newsletter> These two are mainly connected.
“The liberty of the press is indeed essential to the nature of a free state; but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publications, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matter when published. Every freeman has an undoubted right to lay what sentiments he pleases before the public; to forbid this, is to destroy the freedom of the press: but if he publishes what is improper, mischievous, or illegal, he must take the consequences of his own temerity. To subject the press to the restrictive power of a licenser, as was formerly done, both before and since the Revolution, is to subject all freedom of sentiment to the prejudices of one man, and make him the arbitrary and infallible judge of all controverted points in learning, religion and government.”
1st amendment historical background < freedom of speech>
Many years after the fact, several court cases have degraded our Judeo-Christian values. As well as the original intent of freedom. Here we are in the twenty-first century and need “safe spaces” because words hurt. Or a particular sect of American citizens finds themselves in a situation where they cry “persecution,” “intolerance,” and “discrimination.” At the same time, tweeting from the newest iPhone about how terrible this country is and complaining about a slew of “discriminatory acts.” But really, it boils down to people being soft and easily persuaded by the media and weapons of propaganda!
Such court cases as:
*Not to speak (specifically, the right not to salute the flag).
West Virginia Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943).*
And.
*To engage in symbolic speech, (e.g., burning the flag in protest).
Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397 (1989); United States v. Eichman, 496 U.S. 310 (1990).*
What does freedom mean?
For Pete’s sake, college students were allowed to be excused from classes following the trump election because they couldn’t handle the outcome.
Now you look at the current state of our country. It’s quite frankly a joke!
Too many liberals are crying about “injustice and intolerance.” while tearing down simple folk for aligning with a person(s) who wanted to do something for the country and avoid the same tried and failed approaches to “democracy.”
Which, realistically speaking, was and is just a way to line their pockets and virtue signal.
Again I digress,
Rounding out the Freedom of Speech Article:
Topics include "Social media censorship."
As well as the ever-growing “Cancel Culture,” with its punitive consequences.
Three such examples among many were not only victims of the cancel culture trend but were also inadvertently affected in one way or another by censorship. Dr. Seuss, Ben Shapiro, and Joe Rogan. They were all involved in different ways. But of the three of them. The one who’s stood tall for the most part would be Joe Rogan. In the event of possible censorship, Spotify defended Rogan and put warnings on his content. There were, however, a few episodes that got the axe based on content.
Nonetheless, he came out mostly unscathed. Why? Because of his comments on The Jab! Where are we in today’s current culture concerning that? Well, more and more first-hand accounts are coming out to suggest that all your favorite conspiracy theorists were closer to the truth than you’d like to believe.
On the other hand, Ben Shapiro has gotten himself quite the reputation as a “controversial figure” on college campuses. He’s also a ”facts don’t care about your feelings” individual.
Yet again, on the other hand, Dr. Seuss has taken a beating compared to the other two. Many of his books have been on the banned books list. And are primarily prohibited from being read in schools.
There is a plethora of things that I could discuss in this particular article for sake of time I’ll call it here.