The First

Good day, Dear Readers,

Today I’m going to discuss one of our most fundamental God-given Rights as Human Beings: the Right to speak our minds and express ourselves.

When the Convention of States held in Philadelphia in 1787 was creating the Constitution of the United States, there were certain concepts that the delegates believed to be so ‘self-evident’ that they didn’t feel the need to explain or expand upon them in that august document. In spite of eloquent articles and pamphlets written, published, and distributed by the likes of Samuel Adams, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, Thomas Paine, and others, they discovered during the Ratification process that many citizens of the new Republic either did not know or did not understand all of the grievances the Colonies had against Britain. Questions even came up about what the “certain inalienable (sic) Rights” beyond “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happyness (sic)” might be that Thomas Jefferson mentioned in the Declaration of Independence. In order to address some of these questions, Congress formed a committee soon after the Ratification of the Constitution for the purpose of further defining the basic Human Rights King George had been violating and that the government of the Republic was meant to protect. The committee determined the most important of those Rights that needed to be enumerated and broke them up into ten separate Amendments to the Constitution. Those Ten Amendments were all Ratified simultaneously and soon became known collectively as “The Bill of Rights.”

The committee that created the Bill of Rights ordered them from most important to least, with the very first Amendment guaranteeing Freedom of Religion, Speech, the Press, to Peaceably Assemble, and to petition the Government to redress grievances. Most people these days simply refer to the First Amendment as, “Freedom of Speech,” but it would be more accurate to refer to it as the “Freedom of Expression Amendment.” This most important Amendment guarantees that people have the Right to Express their Spirituality, Vocalize their Opinions, Disseminate Information…both supportive and critical of the government…in Print, Peaceably Gather with family and neighbors in public spaces to discuss and debate topics of concern, and to bring Grievances to the Government, all without fear of recrimination or reprisal. In fact, the Framers of the Bill of Rights placed that one first because, with very limited exceptions, without the ability to openly Express one’s beliefs or point of view, the other nine Amendments would just be hollow words.

Unfortunately, in the first quarter of the Twenty-first Century, many people have forgotten just how important free and unbridled speech is to our Republic. There have been many attempts to govern, and even completely censor, public speech by creating laws regulating things deemed to be ‘hate speech’ or ‘misinformation’. The problem is, “who decides?” Who decides what is ‘hate speech’? When recognized experts can’t agree on a topic, who decides which side is speaking scientific truth and which is spreading ‘misinformation’? The short answer is, “whomever is in power.” Believe me, I agree completely that exercising the Right to Free Speech is not absolute. No one may speak in such a way that may lead to the physical harm of another person, such as, but not limited to, the classic example of shouting “Fire!” in a crowded venue. Nor may anyone speak in such a way as to incite violence against an individual or group of individuals, or against property of any kind. All Speech is also subject to the laws prohibiting Libel and Slander. But beyond these safeguards, Speech…heck, most forms of Expression…should be Free and unfettered.

What got me thinking about The First is a recent ruling by the Supreme Court. In the 6 to 3 decision of the case, Murthy v. Missouri, the majority opinion ruled that the Plaintiffs, that included the States of Missouri and Louisiana, did not have any legal Standing to sue the Federal Government for pressuring social media platforms to unconstitutionally violate the First Amendment Rights of U. S. Citizens, basically using its power to silence any opposition to the administration’s policies regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic. Since when do “We the People” not have a clear and inexorable Standing on behalf of the First Amendment of the Constitution…or any of the Amendments for that matter. Without the People having an irrevocable Standing in such cases, the Rule of Law goes right out the window.

In addition to the question of Standing, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who wrote the majority opinion for this decision, basically said that just because the government may have done this two years ago, there’s no reason to think they’ll do it again, so they shouldn’t be held accountable. That’s like telling someone arrested for drunk driving, “Oh! Even though you crippled a child while driving drunk two years ago, you’ve been clean and sober ever since…a model citizen…so you won’t be held accountable.”

Think that’s hyperbole? Dozens of people had their professional, and even private lives, ruined by the government requested censorship. Their posts weren’t just blocked, they were labeled misinformation and outright lies. Professional and personal reputations were destroyed. Because they wouldn’t kowtow to an ideology they believed was wrong, many of them lost their jobs, and even friends and some family. Even though, in most cases, numerous research studies have since proven that these people were right all along, they still suffer…and no one has been held accountable.

The ‘hate speech’ laws are quite another problem. As far as I am concerned, as long as what is communicated does not meet the limited definition of prohibited speech (you know, causing or calling for physical harm), then it should be allowed, no matter how heinous it may be. One reason is that all Speech must be Free, even Speech with which you disagree, or none of it is. The other reason is that, if you make the idiocy illegal, then you’ll just drive the speakers underground. I want them out in the open, peacefully spewing their nonsense so that we know who they are and we can all point and laugh at them. This is why all ‘hate speech’ laws should be ruled as a violation of The First.

Remember, there is nothing, expressed or implied, anywhere in the Constitution or any of its Amendments that says anyone has a Right to not be offended or not have their feelings hurt.

The bottom line is that I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it.

Until next time, Dear Readers, be well…

© 2009, 2024 James P. Rice