Weekly Opinion Editorial
WHO’S THE
FAIREST OF THEM ALL?
by Steve Fair
The first amendment to the U.S.
Constitution prohibits the making of any law establishing a ‘state sponsored’
religion. It also prohibits the impeding
of the free exercise of religion, abridging individual freedom of speech or the
freedom of the press. It protects
freedom of assembly and the right for citizens to petition their government
with their grievances. All ten of the Bill
of Rights are necessary to protecting our freedoms and liberties, but without
the basic right to speak freely, criticize our government and being able to
print those criticisms, just how much liberty would we really have? Having the freedom to worship as we wish, as
granted by the first amendment, is a blessing.
Three things about the first amendment:
First, the first amendment grants the
right of citizens to disagree. Rational
people can disagree on issues. How one
person views a situation may be very different than the way another will view
the same situation- and that’s o.k. We
should respect other people’s right to disagree with us. The first amendment also guarantees that
person who disagrees with us the right to express their opinion. We may not
like their viewpoint, but we have the right to rebut and to express our
opinion. Tolerance for differing
opinions has been lost in our politically correct world. Some of the most intolerant people are
liberals. They scream ‘intolerance’ when
conservatives don’t embrace their liberal views, but they exhibit the same
‘intolerance’ when conservatives express their conservative views. Only God knows everything, but you wouldn’t
know it by listening to the talk shows.
“Humility and how I Mastered it,” appears to be the autobiography of
many elected officials.
Second, the first amendment is messy. Having an open society can create
challenges. If you allow everyone to
express their opinion without any restrictions or filter, then it stands to
reason people who disagree are going to react in an equal and opposite way (Newton’s Law). With the talking head examples on the tube
where two opposites are encouraged to destroy the other’s position, it no
wonder few people have any respect for their fellow man? No one wants to listen to someone else’s
opinion. Most now have their opinion and
don’t confuse them with the facts. The
first amendment’s provision actually allows/permits/encourages fools to believe
stupid things. That is the messy part
and it makes it hard to stomach for us geniuses.
Third, the first amendment is under
attack. For the very reasons I just
cited, government feels threatened when citizens- in mass- begin to express
their frustration. Government leaders
seek to ‘keep things under control,’ with little regard for the rights of the
individual citizen and the constitution.
The press has come under attack when they print anything the government
or elected officials deem inappropriate.
Churches face government scrutiny if they engage in any political
activity or express a conviction/value that government deems intolerant. A
classic example of silencing the opposition is the issue of same-sex
marriage. Senator Mike Lee, (R, Utah)
and Congressman Raul Ladrador, (R, Idaho) have introduced HR 2802 which would
protect those who oppose same sex marriage and insure their full protection
under the first amendment. The bill does
not preempt, negate, or alter any civil rights laws, state or federal. It does
not take anything away from any individual or group, because it does not modify
any of the existing civil rights protections.
It simply affirms the right of those who disagree with same sex marriage
to have the same rights as those who agree with it.
President
Harry Truman said: “Once a government is
committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only
one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures,
until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country
where everyone lives in fear.” That
is where we are in America- a government that is tolerate when it comes to
liberal values, but not conservative ones.
Our government is merely a reflection of our culture. What do we see when we ask the mirror ‘who’s
the fairest of them all?’ We see
ourselves and the reflection isn’t pretty. 
No comments:
Post a Comment