Freedom of Speech Under Assault

The adage used to be that you might disagree with every fiber of your being what someone else might say, but you would defend with your life their right to say it.

The freedom of speech guaranteed under the United States Constitution is amongst the most precious gifts entrusted to us by the founders and the framers.

This past week has shown two glaring examples of how that right is under assault under the guise of what is euphemistically called by its proponents as ‘hate speech’ in one instance and by the Majority leader of the United States Senate as a political gaming chip in the other.

The first event was the assault on Chik-Fil-A. The first fact that must be established and fully understood is that there is absolutely not one shred of evidence that the corporation has ever discriminated against anyone, at any time, for any reason. Ever. While many on the political left and their accompanying media sycophants have tried to frame the entire Chik-Fil-A situation as an example of hate speech, as a gay rights/homophobia event, the facts to not hold true to that belief.

It is none of those, try as they may to construct an argument around it.

To wit:

At the core of this nonsense is that the chairman of the company expressed his view that marriage was a traditional institution that applied solely to one man and one woman. That was what he believes; it is part of his deeply held religious faith. He runs his company based upon that belief system – the Chik-Fil-A restaurants are not open on Sunday, in deference to that religious tenet of resting on the seventh day.

That is the issue – what the chairman said, spoke, announced, stated, and pronounced as his belief.

It is key to remember that the organization has never discriminated against anyone, ever, based upon the personally held beliefs of the chairman.

So the hue and cry of Chik-Fil-A being somehow discriminatory and homophobic are utter nonsense. This is nothing more than attempting to persecute someone for exercising his freedom of speech, speech which has no deleterious effect on anyone, anywhere.

The American people must en masse understand the potential damage in allowing these attacks to continue unabated. There cannot be freedom of speech with the applied condition that it be acceptable to some type of politically correct media monitors. The disgrace that was the mass media covering this truly non-event was shameful, for the other adage is equally true – the moment one persons freedom is trod upon we all become enslaved at the hands of tyranny.

It is also worthy of note that mayors in two major cities- Boston & Chicago – have made veiled threats to thwart the expansion of Chik-Fil-A in their cities, noting that the company not share their cities’ ‘values’. This is more dangerous than many may think. Government in America is designed to protect the legal affairs of it’s citizens and business’ – to put some manner of ‘morality’ on the free exercise of legitimate commerce of Americans is a dangerous game that must not be allowed to continue.

The second event is the pathetic attempt made by Majority Leader Harry Reid in a sick and twisted political gambit to goad presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to release tax returns for the previous ten years. Senator Reid stated that ‘someone’ had told him Mr. Romney had not paid taxes for the last ten years. Amidst the resulting media firestorm, Senator Reid stated that if Mr. Romney was innocent of the charge, then let him prove it.

This is beyond scandalous – it is beyond an affront to American democracy.

For Senator Reid’s’ edification, here is the summation of the relevant parts of the United States Constitution, a document he has sworn to protect and defend.

To wit:

One is innocent UNLESS proven guilty – the state must prove guilt, not the other way around. Senator Reid has the right to say what he will, but that right is limited by basic intelligence. Demanding someone to prove their innocence is anathema to America; to subject a citizen to proving innocence is akin to the McCarthy hearings where citizens were forced to reveal names of their friends, if indeed they were ‘true and patriotic Americans’.

Freedom of speech is clearly under assault and must be protected at any and all cost.

This is not hyperbole – attempting to undo a basic tenet of freedom is always a serious threat and must be addressed as such. Specious claims of homophobia and hate speech coupled with calls to prove ones’ innocence is not the America that has been entrusted to us by our ancestors and must not be the legacy we pass on to out posterity.

For those looking for clarification on several basic issues facing the electorate in the 2012 election, these two instances should give every member of the electorate pasue to consider the future path of America.