Freedom of speech for you, but not me?

Posted on June 24, 2020

By CAITLYN BURCHETT

“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.”

I wholeheartedly and absolutely believe in the First Amendment.While some may ask if I am a First Amendment absolutist — someone who takes those 45 words literally — I would ask in reply, “Isn’t that the only way to support the First Amendment?”

All or nothing, right?

Apparently not.

Last week I observed people criticizing a local woman for sharing social media posts and memes they perceived to be racist, demanding not only the removal of the Facebook posts, but also the woman from her job.

The week before I watched and listened as some called for local authorities to prevent peaceful protestors from gathering.

This week — well, this week has only just begun — and I am already disheartened by continued efforts in Taylor County and around the nation to silence diverging opinions.

Someone told me yesterday they were afraid to “like” a Facebook post because it might be perceived in a negative light and put a target on their back (or their employer’s back).

Then, I read that the New York Times decided that a Republican senator’s opinion piece failed to meet its own editorial board “standards,” and that it should not have been run after the media outlet received backlash for publishing — God forbid — an opinion contrary to some readers and editorial staff members.

The icing on the cake for me was seeing outcry from social media users whose comments had been removed entirely, not for violating community standards, but for disagreeing with the original poster.

In this era of social media, opinions run rampant, but well-crafted rebuttals are lacking.

People are quick to use their freedom of speech to demand someone else’s freedom of speech be taken away, rather than being forced to counter — or better yet, consider — a differing opinion.I thought the First Amendment was all or nothing.

The fact is that most people only care about the freedoms contained within the First Amendment when it is about THEIR freedoms.

However, the First Amendment is made up of 45 words…and not one of those words is “your.”

The First Amendment is not just about your free speech, your right to publish, your freedom of religion, your right to assemble and your right to petition the government.

It is about guaranteeing those same rights for EVERY individual in the United States. 

That means yours, his, hers, theirs, mine and ours.

Attempting to pick and choose when and to what you apply the First Amendment is an ironic travesty and a disservice to ourselves.

When you demand someone else’s First Amendment freedoms be curtailed, you are eroding the American citizens’ first (and in my opinion, strongest) barrier against a tyrannical government.

You might not see it today, but in one year, five years or 10 years, you will look back and wonder how we went from a nation of free-flowing information to self-censorship.

Instead of calling for the removal of a diverging opinion, consider if someone were to take that same freedom away from you.

Consider if someone were to take away your right to disagree with that opinion.

I am a First Amendment absolutist, and that means I will uphold and defend the right for not only my opinion to be heard – but yours as well — whether I agree with it or not.