FREE SPEECH AND OTHER INCONVENIENT FREEDOMS

It seems a number of people in this country are unhappy with the rules by which we live. They don’t like the fact that some people possess guns. They also don’t like the fact that people have the right to speak their minds on about any subject they wish. They want to change the rules. They want to change our Constitution.

Before we get into the requirements needed to change the Constitution, let us examine just what they are so unhappy about. 

The first amendment to the Constitution guarantees us the right of free speech. Of course there are some limits. For example, one cannot scream fire in a crowded theater unless there is a fire. Also, there are some prohibitions against libel and slander. A recent poll of millennials, also known as young individuals with no discernable usable skills or life experience, many of whom are still in school, shows a majority want to regulate and punish free speech to outlaw what they call “hate speech”. They do not necessarily define what hate speech is however. 

So, what is hate speech? If I express my opinion that the current fad of blaming every change in the weather on global warming is nonsense, is that hate speech? To one who has bought into the global warming religion, it is. If I own a bakery and have deeply held beliefs that marriage is between a man and a woman, and refuse to bake a cake or decorate it with a nonstandard two groom or two brides topper, is that hate speech? Trust me, to some that is definitely hate speech. 

What if you eat a normal diet including meat and vegetables, could a vegetarian believe your expression of love for steak be considered hate speech? Worse yet, what if you own a meat packing plant? That could get ugly. 

Then there’s politics. To those on the left, any speech by one on the right is often considered hate speech. And, vice versa. Anything a leftie has to say is gibberish to me and most on my side of the aisle. Personally I don’t think of it as hate speech, just moronic speech. 

Living in a free country can get ugly sometimes. It means allowing people to think differently and speak differently. And, we live side by side. When we send our armies to war, we protect everybody’s rights, not just some. 

Our second amendment is crystal clear. We, the people have the right to keep and bear arms. We can use those guns to go hunting, go to the shooting range, keep by our bedside for home protection, and most importantly, protect ourselves from our own government. That was the primary reason our Founders put that in our Constitution. As I have said before, neither my guns nor my rights are for sale Beto, so your “brilliant idea” of a buyback ain’t gonna happen.

Those are the rules. Deal with it millennials. 

Now if you absolutely have to change anything, there is a remedy. Our founders built into the Constitution a way of changing it. It’s really simple. First your change must have approval of a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress. Then that proposal has to be sent out to be approved and ratified by three-fourths of the states through their State Legislatures. It’s all very simple. If you are successful it should take only a few years to pull this off. 

The reason all this is necessary is because our Founders knew future generations might want to change the rules dependent on which way the wind was blowing. There have been changes and amendments in our past and they are now the law. Allowing women to vote happened by Constitutional amendment. Some of these amendments have been very important to this country.

So, there you have it. You had best get busy though. By the time you get to the states for ratification, you might have grown up and had to face the reality of adulthood.

Ron Scarbro