Here is the actual text of the First Amendment to our Constitution:
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.
The
right or privilege to speak one’s mind…in
a reasonable fashion that does not incite violence or endanger people…is
clearly protected by this Amendment.
This privilege is to be honored, respected, and tolerated. As Americans, we are granted the right to say
ignorant, outrageous, and even mean-spirited things. What is NOT
included in this Amendment is the right or obligation on any person or any
entity to provide…or to be provided…a platform
for that free speech. You will also note
that the terms hate speech or violence are not mentioned; the closest
we come to that is the use of the term peaceably.
Every
person as an individual is responsible for the words that flow from them…either
verbally or otherwise. We own them. But the right to take foolish social
positions or step right up to the red line of defamation and incitement does not
mean that someone or something out there must enable us, promote us, or legally
provide us with the opportunity to do this.
Colbert, Kimmel, Kilmeade, Bondi, Trump, Schumer, LeBron, Taylor Swift,
Springsteen, Tom Hanks, De Niro, Crockett, Katy Tur, Elon Musk, Hannity…all of these
people can say whatever they choose within the bounds of civility and
reason. But unless they are in their own
homes, their own backyards, or pursuing an enterprise that is solely of their
own volition…they are beholden to those who have provided the platform for
their espousing. And…they are bound not
only by the privileges of the First Amendment, but by the RESPECT for the First Amendment.
If we demand the right to speak our mind, we must allow others to speak
theirs.
Look
at our media today. Do any of the
platforms or channels have any real interest
in balanced reporting? I don’t think
so. Sure, some are more biased than
others; but they all tilt pretty severely one way or the other. They all
have their own agendas. I tell you
what…you want balance? Do this. When you have a panel show of five…The View,
The Five, the Whatever…instead of
having a token minority view on the show running solo, give them two seats out of five; give them a
fighting chance to get a word or two in the conversation. Fair and
balanced? Truth dies in the
darkness? Give me a break. These are
nothing but empty platitudes and vain glorious slogans. All of these folks are perpetuating their
idealistic bubbles and have no interest in presenting both sides in an objective way.
Whoopi rips on Republicans and Trump, but she does not incite or
libel. Jesse rips on Democrats and
liberal/progressives, but he does not advocate violence. This is
free speech in action.
We
as human beings are far too prone to egotism, conceit, and are insufficiently
self-aware to be given the right to DEMAND
that our thoughts and opinions REQUIRES
someone or something to put us up front…put a microphone in our hand, a monitor
to read, or a keyboard before us…and then turn us loose to represent not only
ourselves, but them as well. That is not free speech. That is the expectation of entitlement. That is arrogance run amok. This all takes place in an environment of democracy,
capitalism, free markets, and within the framework of our Constitution.
ESSENTIAL
to the process is the understanding that we are all but a small part of a
bigger picture. What we do on our own is
our business; but what we do with other people’s time and resources gives them the right to influence our
content. We specifically give them that
right when we accept their support.
People have the constitutional right to be stupid, say stupid things,
and even do a lot of stupid things. We
do NOT have the right to demand a
pedestal or stage on which to perform these stupid acts. If that element is provided to us, then we are
duty-bound to conform to the provider’s rules or, if we choose not to conform,
we can walk away…or get terminated. Our enablers may choose to pull the plug on
our efforts or the consumers of our actions may choose to ignore us; either one
of these results are reasonable expectations and risks of what we might say or
do in a public forum.
Our
political opinions, our social habits, our lifestyle choices, our ethics, our
morals, our religion…all of these freedoms are given to us to use as we choose
upon a deep and wide playing field. But EVERY other person on that playing field
has the same rights. Respect for others,
appreciation of differences, and the absolute need for co-existence demands
that while we exercise OUR OWN First
Amendment rights…we equally respect the privilege of others to exercise THEIR OWN First Amendment rights.
Here’s the deal:
Believe what you like about abortion, gay rights, capital punishment,
conservatism, progressivism, free markets, global warming, government spending
and taxation…but do not get up in my face and DEMAND that I agree with you or else be branded a bible-thumping,
flag-waving, intolerable fascist. I will
recognize your right to believe what you wish; but I enthusiastically retain the right to not endorse your ideas and
possess a differing opinion of my own.
If we are to live in and maintain our democracy, we must learn these
lessons. We must begin to PRACTICE these lessons. A monolithic and autocratic state such as
communism or socialism is not the solution and those ideals are anathema to a
free society and nation. Toleration within limits is the price we
must pay for our Constitution and the American way of life.
And
perhaps most importantly…we do not need our GOVERNMENT
to play school monitor and begin placing us out in the hallway in our school
desks. Where the line is drawn between
individual first amendment rights and actions that incite violence or defame
others (i.e. disinformation and libel)
is a HUGE question and
challenge. Congress will ultimately have
to draw this line; the Judicial Branch will have to endorse their legislation;
and the Executive Branch will have to administer those rules. And all of this decision making will take
place in the current maelstrom of a severe partisan divide, social media, photoshopping,
AI, and other applications of high tech.
The biggest single threat to this
process is not the irresponsible action of the individual, but rather the
corruptible capacity of those in power...i.e. censorship. Like it or not, the time has come to draw
that line. We can only hope and pray
that it is drawn wisely.
https://americanmind.org/salvo/assassination-cancellation-and-freedom-of-speech/
https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/a-senate-story-about-first-amendment-lawfare/
Pretty thin skin…
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/donald-trump-jimmy-kimmel-brendan-carr/2025/09/19/id/1227155/
https://www.newsmax.com/politics/bondi-violence-threats/2025/09/16/id/1226629/
https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/09/pam-bondis-first-amendment-follies/
https://americanmind.org/memo/how-to-dismantle-far-left-extremist-networks/
The
economy is going to be the number one consideration of voters next year when
the mid-term elections arrive. The
quarter-point FR cut should serve to continue a slow and deliberate improvement
in our national economy. We can only
hope it moves fast enough to assuage the concerns many have about the high cost
of living. It is becoming increasingly
clear that Trump has inherited an economy that was highly overrated due to the
lies, disinformation, and general incompetence of the Biden Administration. The lift is significant.
The
Obama deep state holdovers that sprang forth under Obama, sabotaged Donald Trump,
and supported Biden were not simply incompetent…they were also terribly
corrupt…
Education…Education…Education…
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/helping-college-students-avoid-wasting-time-and-money/
https://amgreatness.com/2025/09/17/the-latest-naep-disgrace/
I
stand up and cheer when President Trump takes bold steps in an effort to
reverse many of the progressive elements installed in our government and
society by the Obama/Biden malaise. But
there is simply no denying that the support we give Trump when we agree with
him can be a double-edged sword….a sword that may come back to cut us when a
Democrat sits in the White House. There
must be limits to each branch of our government and these limits must be
respected.
https://reason.com/2025/09/17/trump-has-a-habit-of-asserting-broad-unreviewable-authority/
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