The First Amendment to the United States Constitution says: “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.”
A second part of the First Amendment guarantees to us that our government will not abridge our freedom of speech. It protects us from government restrictions upon our freedom to express our ideas, beliefs, opinions and thoughts. It makes it possible for us to freely pursue and exchange knowledge,ideas and information.
Again, how different that is from the censorship experienced by so many peoples under so many governments. Even in our day,the freedom of speech which is guaranteed us by the Bill of Rights in the Constitution is not shared by all around the world. People are yet censored, imprisoned and even put to death for sharing their thoughts, beliefs and ideas. How thankful we can be that our founding fathers regarded this as a fundamental freedom and sought to protect that freedom by including the guarantees in our nation’s Constitution!
But like all our freedoms, the freedom of speech can easily be lost, making it all the more important that we cherish and defend this constitutional right.
And yes, this right is under attack. It is becoming more and more unacceptable to express thoughts or ideas which are contrary to the politically and socially acceptable norms of society. Using descriptors likeextremist, hate speech and intolerant, the rights of many to express their views and morals are being challenged. People are beginning to live in fear of government reprisals if they express views and opinions contrary to current policy and opinion.
This freedom, of course, is closely related to religious freedom and the freedom of the press. If the freedom of speech is taken from those who hold to religious beliefs and morals, the freedom of religion is gone. If government takes away from citizens this freedom to speak out, write and publish - whether it be in books, newspapers, magazines, Web sites, Web logs or broadcasts over the airwaves - the freedom of the press will be gone.
Should a bill like S.773, the Cyber-security Act of 2009, ever become law, the president would have sweeping powers to not only monitor private Internet activity, but to shut down and restrict Internet communications and activities in times of cyber threat. While the stated goal of protecting theAmerican people and their privacy sounds good, the powers in the wrong hands could be devastating to these very constitutional rights. When is there ever a time when our nation and private Internet users are not under cyber threat? Think about it.
This amendment also guarantees to citizens the right to voice dissent against the government and government laws and policies.
Making use of my rights, I watched hours of House debate Sunday on the health-care bill which was finally passed by house Democrats on Sunday night. Though much apparently went on behind the scenes and not open to the American public, we at least could watch the House debates and see the vote counts as they weretaken.
Listening to statements from the House floor, it was hard to know what to believe. Comments coming from both sides of the aisle were meant to be convincing even though the votes were pretty much already decided and counted before the ballot was ever taken.
Of one thing I’m sure: There will be a price to pay for every hardworking American in order to guarantee health coverage for everyone. What I wonder is how much more people can afford or will endure.
The constitutionality of the whole thing will be, or at least should be, called into question under the 10th Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Of course, the government ignores this provision in other federal mandates, too - just think of the federal government’s grip upon our schools. But I expect federal lawsuits are being filed. Numerous states had already passed legislation exempting their citizens from national healthcare requirements.
And while I’m exercising my First Amendment freedoms, I suppose I could share a couple of cyber communications I shared with friends Mondaymorning before I came to work and finished this piece. Perhaps government will hereafter restrict my cell-phone text messages, but I’ll tell you anyway.
“U.S.A. yesterday. U.S.S.A today.” “I’m glad my citizenship is in heaven. The health-care plan is so much better: ‘Our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body’ (Philippians 3:20, 21).”
I don’t know what will happen next here in America. The country in which I grew up as a child and in which I worked hard as a young man is no more, and it’s not coming back. I sure do look forward to my eternal country, where I have received citizenship solely by the grace of God for the sake of the sacrificeof His Son. Only there is health care truly perfect and truly free!
Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Gentry Courier-Journal and the Decatur Herald. He can be contacted at randym @ nwanews .com.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 03/24/2010