Happy Independence Day - 2006

Happy Independence Day 2006

For anyone that knows me, or has read this blog knows that I cherish freedom and respect and honor those that have paid the ultimate price to keep this country free for 230 years now. I always watch fireworks this time of year (twice so far) and think about what freedom means to mean, and am trying to instill that lesson in my children since I believe that you can never be too young to begin to understand what living in a free country means. I realize they probably don’t understand or even care at 5 and almost 2, what I am telling them, but hopefully if I keep saying it to them, and showing them what freedom is, and teaching them the meaning of freedom, then hopefully the will come to understand why it is important, and why no one individual, government or entity should ever have the ability to limit the freedoms granted to American citizens in the constitution of the United States. Today more than ever is a day to recognize and remember what our founding fathers wanted to deliver with the First Amendment.

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.

This past weekend, I read an article by Paul Greenberg in the Stamford Advocate that speaks to the election year issue of adding an amendment to the constitution to prevent desecration of the American Flag. Greenberg says this proposed amendment is not a violation of the first amendment since this would be banning an action, not a speech:

“Facts are stubborn things, as old John Adams once noted, and We the People can tell the difference between speech and action.

What we have here is a failure to make elemental distinctions in our confused public discourse. Every time that ability fades, the airiest sophistries are wheeled out to fill the vacuum created when reason abdicates. So it was only to be expected that those who oppose protecting the flag would wrap themselves in the First Amendment and contend that an act is just another form of speech.

But it isn't criticizing the flag that some of us propose to ban. Any street corner orator should be able to stand on a soapbox and badmouth the American flag all day long — and apple pie and motherhood, too, if that's his inclination. It's a free country.
It is actually assaulting Old Glory, it's defacing the Stars and Stripes, it's an act, the physical desecration of the flag of the United States, that ought to be against the law, just as it once was. The Flag Amendment would ban an indecent act, not an exercise of free speech.”

Honestly it is hard to rally against this particular amendment on content alone, since I personally don’t approve of flag burning. However, yes it is an action, and individuals, or groups are allowed to protest the actions of the government of the United States by burning the flag. I believe they have that fundamental right and both action and speech are guaranteed by the first amendment.

I take serious umbrage to the idea of putting limits on the first amendment. If you were to follow the argument presented above, then speech is inherently protected, but not actions. So therefore, you might be able to say anything you want a woman’s ability to choose her own reproductive standards based on religious beliefs, but any actions associated with this could be deemed illegal since that is an action and not protected by the 1st amendment. How about a simpler premise, would the civil rights marches led by Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960’s be permissible since these were definitely actions, not just speeches. How are we are my children, or future grand-children going to protest some future incident or governmental policy that we don’t agree with, without action?

So in essence, you can say anything you want, you won’t however be able to do express that belief in any kind of substantiated action. Whoever said talk is cheap, it pretty much defines what some are trying to do here!!

If this amendment were to pass, it would be the first actual limitation placed against the first amendment since the constitution was drafted and ratified in 1791. If this passes, then what about the next action which some radical or fringe group, who is able to rile up the masses, finds reprehensible and feels the need to amend the constitution and put further limitations against the 1st amendment. They will have the legal precedence and will be able to just point to this ridiculous amendment.

Those folks who want to put parameters around the 1st amendment, must be licking there lips that they are now one vote shy in the Senate of moving forward in this process. These people believe that only their views matter and no debates on the issues are not necessary, that all government actions should be secretive and only revealed when politically suitable. They believe that their religion should be the national religion, or English should be the national language or that white should be the national color or squares should be banned. The problem is, no one knows what circumstances or situations we will find ourselves in the future that will allow one person, one party, one governor, one general, one congressmen or one president to completely eliminate the bill of rights and take away all our freedoms. Once you limit the 1st amendment, there is no going back, and this flag burning amendment is that first step.

But folks who believe in freedom with all their hearts and all the minds, who believe that even those that disagree with them are entitled and encouraged to be able to speak and act upon their own convictions, should be fundamentally opposed to limiting this very definition of freedom here in the US.

And one final thought, from Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith:

The Emperor: [to the Senate] In order to ensure our security and continuing stability, the Republic will be reorganized into the first Galactic Empire, for a safe and secure society which I assure you will last for ten thousand years. [Senate fills with enormous applause]

Padmé: [to Bail Organa] So this is how liberty dies... with thunderous applause.

Think about it!!