The Childish View of the First Amendment

Children, or adults with a childish perspective, see the world differently from mature adults. In the world of children, they are the sun around which others revolve, and they view the world from that perspective. They are egotistical and myopic. Their thoughts and opinions reflect that self-obsessed point of view. “I”, “Me” and “My” are the most important pronouns in their thoughts and in their speech. One characteristic of children, which grows out of their ego-based view of their world, is that compromise is not a part of their nature. Their way is right. Why compromise? Doing that would be a betrayal of the truth, which they feel compelled to defend with all their being.

As they grow older, their self-centered orientation evolves into that frustrating “know-it-all” attitude that makes them think that they are always right while their parents and other adults cling to everything that they consider to be outmoded and untrue. They are convinced that what they believe is the truth and only the truth. In their minds, the only people who know anything are those who agree with them. Not uncommon among children, and among adults clinging to the importance of “me” attitudes, is a tendency to bully those who look different, who act differently, who have different beliefs, or who are inviting targets because they are unable to counter the aggression. Decent members of society condemn such abuse toward others, as they should. Bullying is a wrong, whether it be physical, verbal, psychological, social, or political, and we should fight back against it. Political correctness is intended to bully us into abandoning our beliefs and our values. Politicians who do not accept the results of valid elections are committed to forcing their will upon the people. Laws that do not protect us or are not enforced are steps toward depriving us of our liberty. Which brings us to freedom and rights. Most of us readily endorse freedom and rights. However, too often in our haste to support and protect our own interests, we overlook the other side of the freedom coin. There we find such fundamental concepts as responsibility and respect. There can be no freedom or rights for any of us unless the rest of us accept our responsibility to assure the freedom and rights of everyone else in our society. One verity to keep in mind is that my freedom stops at the border of the freedom of all the others around me who have freedom rights equal to mine. Our tasks are to respect the beliefs of others as we expect them to respect ours and to be responsible for protecting the freedom and rights of others. In addition, all adherents of freedom and rights in our society should keep in mind that freedom does not mean liberty to do as we please, to insist upon our beliefs for everyone, or to infringe upon the freedom and rights of others. Another verity, to which everyone should adhere, is that our freedom does not, does not, give us the right to accost and to destroy those who do not agree with us. Jesus said, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” In our current uncivil and destructive political climate, we search hopefully for examples of leaders who are willing to stand up bravely against constant attacks on our freedom and our rights. Although the numbers of those who support rights are few, the news seems to be filled with those who are willing to sacrifice our liberty in order to implement their ideas and to force their beliefs on all of us. One example is the recent confrontation at a White House press conference between a “reporter” and the President. It was clearly evident that the “reporter” did not attend that press conference to ask a question and to report the President’s reply. He came purposely to bully the President into admitting that he was wrong because his belief did not adhere to what he, the “reporter”, believed. Not only did he consciously disregard the right of the President to have his own belief he also denied the right of the other reporters to ask questions during the press conference. He would not relinquish the floor when asked politely to do so. In addition, he rudely refused to turn over the microphone to an innocent intern, a failure by a public figure to respect her and her rights. Subsequently, the President rescinded the “reporters” pass, which has prompted an outcry that doing that is contrary to the “reporter’s” rights under the Constitution. (When Barack Obama ordered the removal of a disrespectful reporter from a press conference, the other reporters applauded.) Another example is that of a politician who would say anything or do anything to become President of the United States. She is absolutely convinced that all those “deplorables” throughout our country will be lost if they do not have her to lead them out of their “deplorable” state into the promised land which only she can provide. Of course, what is standing in her way are those very same “deplorables”, who voted for President Trump, which is a festering sore in her mind and in the mind of her progressive supporters. In fact, she declared recently that she and her followers cannot be civil to those people until they believe as her progressive followers do, or more correctly, as she does. Of course, many other cases reveal this same childish insistence upon believing as they do, or they will make us sorry for clinging to our beliefs rather than converting to the truth. There are a number of instances when families have been denied their freedom to have a meal in a restaurant, to be safe in their own home, to be considered innocent until proven guilty, to be protected from harassment, to discuss different points of view at universities, etc. (Above the door at one of the entrances of New Cabell Hall at the University of Virginia is the following quote from the founder, Thomas Jefferson, “Here, we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead nor to tolerate any error as long as reason is left free to combat it.” How astonishing that such a profound statement could have been made by a detestable white man who owned slaves!) One sees all these things happening in the “land of the free” and wonders about our future. Are we heading toward a slippery slope leading to chaos filled with politically correct thinking, “newspeak”, and eventually dictatorial rules and regulations?