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“Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last” Charlotte Brontë, 1816-1855, Jane Eyre (1847) preface
Welcome,
It seems to me that in today’s politically correct world, Charlotte Brontë’s words ring truer than ever. The right to free speech is on its way out of favor lest anything offend the ears and sensibilities of a vocal minority, the Religious Right, who do not care one whit about offending the rest of us.
The notion that it is acceptable to put a price (punishment) on the First Amendment has come into vogue. People who speak freely face book bannings, CD smashings, and damaged careers. Hardly noticed is the sponsoring of narrow conventionality on television by frightened advertisers, who treat America’s adult population like censored children. Death threats, and even the murdering of people whose opinions or lifestyles strongly differ from the Religious Right’s go largely unquestioned these days.
In countries governed by dictators or theocracies, speaking freely is expected to exact a vicious price. But since the USA is designed to have neither, the mockery of one’s opinions is the worst one should expect when legally speaking out here. That is the whole point of free speech! Otherwise, just as in theocracies the world over, we will eventually hear silent obedience from the population, and nothing but the latest rules of religion from the ruling theocracy.
If we do not loudly support the First Amendment, its power will cease to exist. The First Amendment supports ALL freedoms. It serves to encourage debate, educate the population, and prevent dictatorships, including theocracies from taking over.
By slowly taking the teeth out of the First Amendment, the Religious Right are garnishing power and control for themselves alone.
We ignore this truth at our peril. Because once our freedoms are taken away, they will be gone.
Let us stay vigilant,
Christine Todd
