John C. King
The Bill of Rights, which includes the 10 amendments in the United States Constitution, codified our rights in this country. The First Amendment is a legal declaration defining the role of the government versus the role of citizen rights: “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.”
It does not, however, prevent one from suffering the consequences of one’s speech. For instance, anything you say can be used against you in many circumstances, such as in legal proceedings, both civil and criminal.
In today’s day and age of so-called “cancel culture,” one’s livelihood and social standing can be severely harmed by their statements. Never before has the term “the shot heard around the world” been more literal in its meaning. Words shared online in print, voice recordings and video can be broadcast at nearly the speed of light to the entire world, and can possibly cause harm to yourself or others.
This reality is a recent product of technology that takes your words and speech from your keyboard and into the minds of others, some of whom vehemently oppose your views or ideology to the point of attempting to harm your reputation, your physical safety, and your freedom, as well as the safety of your family and friends. I can personally recall when John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated because of their beliefs and their willingness to express their beliefs.
I also remember when Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford were almost assassinated. I witnessed the effect it had on the social discourse, the cities in flames, the grief and heartbreak, and the loss of great men who, in their martyrdom, steered the course of discourse in a more tolerant and kinder way of communication.
They paid the ultimate price for exercising their First Amendment rights, not for glory, not for financial reward, not for popularity that would create obedience. They all sought to make America a better place to live. John Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Dr. Martin Luther King said, “We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools. ”
Robert F Kennedy said, “The future is not a gift, it is an achievement.”
I believe that to do the right things for our country, we must have and respect the power of free speech to build up or to destroy.
We cannot take for granted that the future will be better; we must use our speech to achieve that future of the shining city on a hill, where we all live together as brothers, rather than perish foolishly because we lack the tolerance or sanity to communicate in a way that doesn’t vilify one another to the point of vile accusation. For example, Donald Trump said, “they’re eating the cats, they’re are eating the dogs.” Vice President J.D Vance justified by his stating, “if I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” on CNN.
The suspension of Jimmy Kimmel and the backlash from both the left and the right are clearly defining our First Amendment rights. ABC/Disney certainly has the right to fire Kimmel based on their company standards; however, it is enshrined in the First Amendment that “the government 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.” In a rare instance of agreement by the majority of this country’s vocal citizens, ABC/Disney was put on notice that “We The People” would not stand for this blatant use of intimidation by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on behalf of the government. We then used our speech and our dollars to drive the point home, costing a $6.5 billion devaluation to said company, proving that their speech was indeed costly to them. You and I, as individuals, have the right to say and do anything that doesn’t legally cause malicious harm in a civil society. In my opinion, divulging someone’s whereabouts (i.e. doxxing) because you disagree with their exercise of free speech is wrong and should not be done. On the other hand, no matter how vehemently you disagree with someone’s ideology, trite remarks about their death at the hands of an assassin are, firstly, unwise to express publicly in writing; secondly, they are in poor taste and insensitive to the pain of others. Yes, you are free to say these things, but if everyone said what was on their minds about each other at all times, even if you believe it to be true, civilization would disintegrate in one afternoon.
When compassion and empathy are replaced by bitterness and hatred, we begin the march to self-destruction. This is not to say you cannot disagree passionately with others and fight with your words to champion your beliefs. This right is so sacred that it’s the first in the Bill of Rights. What is true is that we can use this right, and we can abuse this right to our benefit or our detriment. The choice is yours to use freely.