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Since the election of President Trump, there have been two major shifts in the American consciousness. First, is a resurgence of interest in politics. It has been exciting to witness and be a part of the numerous demonstrations that occur on an almost weekly basis, beginning with the inauguration demonstrations then the women’s march – the largest demonstration in history – up to the march for science, which occurred this past week.
The second shift has been the massive pendulum swing towards progressive political ideology. Environmental issues, healthcare, and a renaissance of feminism are back in the forefront of American minds. Special elections in lockdown republican districts of Kansas and Georgia were so close – Democrats coming within percentage points of Republican candidates – that Republicans run a real chance of losing both the House and Senate in midterm elections.
The collective American ideology ping pongs from right to left roughly every decade and it is a healthy process that encourages compromise and ensures no one party gets too comfortable, or complacent, in Washington.
Instead of balancing out the system, the pendulum is swinging so swiftly and determinedly to the left that it is throwing an already broken system further out of tune, and farther away from reason.
People are so eager to throw their full support and trust to the left that they are naively willing to throw away their rights.
The University of California in Berkeley recently cancelled a speech that conservative personality Ann Coulter was scheduled to give. Their reason for cancelling was “safety concerns” due to violent demonstrations that erupted after Milo Yiannopolous was scheduled to speak, and after the Trump rally a two weeks ago.
Interesting position to take from the same institution at which the free speech movement of the 1960’s formed. More disturbing is the fact that UC Berkeley is a public university, which receives funding from the state.
Now Ann Coulter and me agree on little, if anything, politically. She is merely a person with an opinion, just like me, and an institution censoring her free speech is an attack on me and every other American who believes in the strength of the first amendment.
The first amendment appears first in our Constitution for a reason – it is the most important mechanism that keeps our democracy functioning. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are the two ironclad firewalls against fascism.
The hyper polarization and politicizing of our time has lulled us into a lower form of thinking where we blindly pledge loyalty to flawed political ideologies rather than our own guaranteed rights as citizens.
As Americans we have to remain vigilant against all over reaches of power from the right and the left. Whether left wing or right wing institutions encroach on our rights, the end results are dismally the same.
Our loyalty as Americans is to each other and not to any party or politician. Politicians are like children on a schoolyard – they need to be chaperoned. The first amendment is how we the people keep them in line.
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Just to clear the First Amendment is “first for a reason.” However, the reason is that the first two were rejected. I know it’s a rhetorical devise, but it’s also misleading.
I’m decidedly a progressive/lefty – and I consider the thoughts, feelings and actions of those on the left who would shut other voices down the biggest possible threat to our democracy. Even if you hate him, Trump will only be president for 8 years. But if this mindset of putting politics above free speech becomes embedded in our national psyche, this “great experiment” in democracy is doomed. Bill Maher, another prog with a big platform, has been saying this for years. And now Bernie Sanders is saying it with vehemence, too. Surprisingly (NOT!) no word from Hillary so far. She’ll… Read more »
Jared, well stated.