Freedom of Speech
Freedom of Speech
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My recent response on Rally Point to a post about the Utah women's basketball team being subjected to racial slurs and threats in Idaho recently: I had but recently taken over as the Senior Army Instructor of a high school in Southside Virginia when a faction of the KKK held a Saturday morning rally on the courthouse steps of nearby Stuart, VA; pop ~ 1K at the time. The well-advertised event was covered by the local, Martinsville-based television station and drew a considerable audience within the region. At that time--late '80s--our school was about 70% white. At that time and place, students had a designated smoking area and the "Stars and Bars" were pretty ubiquitous--flags, belt buckles, license plates, et al. JROTC classes the following Monday began with the question, "Who saw the clan rally on TV this weekend?" (most had) followed by the question, "What were the three (3) things that were GREAT about it?" (stunned silence). The teaching point follows: First of all, the "group" of rallying clansmen was extremely small; some six in total. Secondly, they looked and sounded so ridiculous that any thinking person would feel only pity for them and their wrong-headed message. Lastly, and most importantly, in these United States we are guaranteed the right of free speech which is not the case in many--to most--countries around the world. Hard to believe that was over 30 years ago. Hard (and sad) to believe that the course the country was on toward a more accepting and integrated society has reverted more-and-more to the tribalism that we should have continued to outgrow as a Nation; and, which will only divide and weaken us in the present and future. I am in no way defending the actions of those spewing hatred toward the ladies on that Utah basketball team. Free speech does not extend to "communicating a threat." Education is key.
Racism
Freedom of Speech
Education
Edited 1 mo ago
Posted 1 mo ago
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Free Speech means even Nazis may speak. The exposure of their warped mindset is the best antidote. Their lack of followers suppresses the fear that is felt because it is an army of none in reality.
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SGT Stephen Rowland
LTC Thomas (Tom) Jones - you’re welcome, Sir. It is a good post and needs more exposure to help maintain the awareness needed to keep our God given rights reinforced by our Constitution.
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First Amendment:
Amdt1.4.1 Freedom
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.
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt1_4_1/
Religion and the Founding of the American Republic
In response to widespread sentiment that to survive the United States needed a stronger federal government, a convention met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 and on September 17 adopted the Constitution of the United States. Aside from Article VI, which stated that "no religious Test shall ever be required as Qualification" for federal office holders, the Constitution said little about religion. Its reserve troubled two groups of Americans--those who wanted the new instrument of government to give faith a larger role and those who feared that it would do so. This latter group, worried that the Constitution did not prohibit the kind of state-supported religion that had flourished in some colonies, exerted pressure on the members of the First Federal Congress. In September 1789 the Congress adopted the First Amendment to the Constitution, which, when ratified by the required number of states in December 1791, forbade Congress to make any law "respecting an establishment of religion."
Religion and the Constitution
When the Constitution was submitted to the American public, "many pious people" complained that the document had slighted God, for it contained "no recognition of his mercies to us . . . or even of his existence." The Constitution was reticent about religion for two reasons: first, many delegates were committed federalists, who believed that the power to legislate on religion, if it existed at all, lay within the domain of the state, not the national, governments; second, the delegates believed that it would be a tactical mistake to introduce such a politically controversial issue as religion into the Constitution.
The only "religious clause" in the document--the proscription of religious tests as qualifications for federal office in Article Six--was intended to defuse controversy by disarming potential critics who might claim religious discrimination in eligibility for public office.
That religion was not otherwise addressed in the Constitution did not make it an "irreligious" document any more than the Articles of Confederation was an "irreligious" document.
The Constitution dealt with the church precisely as the Articles had, thereby maintaining, at the national level, the religious status quo.
In neither document did the people yield any explicit power to act in the field of religion. But the absence of expressed powers did not prevent either the Continental-Confederation Congress or the Congress under the Constitution from sponsoring a program to support general, nonsectarian religion.
SOURCE : https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06.html
Amdt1.4.1 Freedom
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.
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/amdt1_4_1/
Religion and the Founding of the American Republic
In response to widespread sentiment that to survive the United States needed a stronger federal government, a convention met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 and on September 17 adopted the Constitution of the United States. Aside from Article VI, which stated that "no religious Test shall ever be required as Qualification" for federal office holders, the Constitution said little about religion. Its reserve troubled two groups of Americans--those who wanted the new instrument of government to give faith a larger role and those who feared that it would do so. This latter group, worried that the Constitution did not prohibit the kind of state-supported religion that had flourished in some colonies, exerted pressure on the members of the First Federal Congress. In September 1789 the Congress adopted the First Amendment to the Constitution, which, when ratified by the required number of states in December 1791, forbade Congress to make any law "respecting an establishment of religion."
Religion and the Constitution
When the Constitution was submitted to the American public, "many pious people" complained that the document had slighted God, for it contained "no recognition of his mercies to us . . . or even of his existence." The Constitution was reticent about religion for two reasons: first, many delegates were committed federalists, who believed that the power to legislate on religion, if it existed at all, lay within the domain of the state, not the national, governments; second, the delegates believed that it would be a tactical mistake to introduce such a politically controversial issue as religion into the Constitution.
The only "religious clause" in the document--the proscription of religious tests as qualifications for federal office in Article Six--was intended to defuse controversy by disarming potential critics who might claim religious discrimination in eligibility for public office.
That religion was not otherwise addressed in the Constitution did not make it an "irreligious" document any more than the Articles of Confederation was an "irreligious" document.
The Constitution dealt with the church precisely as the Articles had, thereby maintaining, at the national level, the religious status quo.
In neither document did the people yield any explicit power to act in the field of religion. But the absence of expressed powers did not prevent either the Continental-Confederation Congress or the Congress under the Constitution from sponsoring a program to support general, nonsectarian religion.
SOURCE : https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel06.html
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