Do you recall someone telling us: “‘WeThe People’ means the Government”? You may have missed it but a statement like that should not be spoken by a leader of this great nation. We should not take pleasure in hearing it nor look forward to his interpretation as to how it may affect our freedom.
Does it imply that we should expect to be subservient to our governments? Should we assume we are only a means to an end with that end to be determined by those we elect to serve us? Perhaps he was simply referring to the joining of individuals to form a union such that they will share the same ideals. Yet recent events lead me to believe otherwise. It appears he is advocating for political authority over the actions, affairs etc of the American people.
We celebrated the 247th anniversary of our independence on July Fourth. Obviously, this is a celebration of America’s independence from England. Does it not also refer to the capacity of each of us to manage our own affairs, make our own judgements and provide for oneself. Certainly, a statement by Evelyn Beatrice Hill in 1906 is still valid in this free country: “I may disapprove of what you say, but I would defend to the death your right to say it.”
Yet on that same day, 07/04/23, Judge Terry A. Doughty of the U. S. District Court in the Western District of Louisiana, Missouri ruled in favor of a request for an injunction against the Biden administration which is accused of violating the Free Speech Clause in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. This carries the strong odor of an attempt to control our personal liberties.
It is alleged that the federal government suppressed speech on social media regarding the efficiency of masking and COVID-19 lockdowns. The integrity of the 2020 presidential election was also brought into question. Would you ever believe that your federal government might ‘strong arm’ social media giants in an effort to regulate free speech?
If the allegations are true, this case may “arguably involve the most massive attack against free speech in United States’ history”. The federal government may likely have deliberately ignored the First Amendment’s right to free speech.
The following quotes reveal the Founding Fathers’ thoughts on freedom of speech:
“For if men are to be precluded from offering their sentiments on a matter which may involve the most serious and alarming consequences, that can invite the consideration of mankind, reason is of no use to us; the freedom of speech may be taken away, and dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep, to the slaughter.”
“Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the Free acts of speech.”
Consolidating absolute power from a free people is never easy. Thankfully we live in a Constitutional Republic where we were created to be free. This may not be contained in the playbook of an autocrat in Washington, D.C. but it definitely was the belief of our Founding Fathers.
They provided with us with a Constitution containing our “natural” rights which William Blackstone, the Oxford attorney, referred to as “absolute”. They came to us from God through nature. Not the least of which is the Second Amendment that protects our right to self-preservation and our right to live freely. Thus, it is a means to protect our life and a means to keep our government in check.
