Americans don’t know how good they got it.
One of the most basic freedoms written into the Constitution is the right to free speech, and it is one of the most powerful tools a person has to defend democracy. But as Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. explained during the 4th annual Norm Brewer First Amendment Lecture on Mar. 3, Americans are more than happy to throw away that freedom and more for even the slightest bit of safety from vague unease. Yet more are happy to throw away their freedoms if it meant that certain groups would be prevented from assailing their ears with statements that would make them upset or have feelings.
It’s a sad turn for a nation that once prided itself on its constitution, a document so revolutionary it continues to inspire the basic structure of the constitutions of other nations. The rights and ideals thousands of men and women have died defending are now cast aside, at the whims of politicians and lawmakers looking only to secure their own power and through the apathy of the American public, who would rather vote for the winner of American Idol than vote for president, a body of citizens who are more willing to change the channel than change the world. More than a third of graduating 12th graders have no understanding of civics and how government works. These are the people with which we are entrusting the future.
So how do we reverse the slide? Can we?
According to Pitts, one of the best ways is to defend the 1st Amendment, even when its use would mean that some truly vile people—like Nazis, religious extremists or other terrible people—would get their say. And this leads to the title of the lecture—there is no “call me out my name” exemption to the 1st Amendment, and even when you’re profoundly offended, the 1st Amendment is worth defending.
One of the most basic freedoms written into the Constitution is the right to free speech, and it is one of the most powerful tools a person has to defend democracy. But as Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts Jr. explained during the 4th annual Norm Brewer First Amendment Lecture on Mar. 3, Americans are more than happy to throw away that freedom and more for even the slightest bit of safety from vague unease. Yet more are happy to throw away their freedoms if it meant that certain groups would be prevented from assailing their ears with statements that would make them upset or have feelings.
It’s a sad turn for a nation that once prided itself on its constitution, a document so revolutionary it continues to inspire the basic structure of the constitutions of other nations. The rights and ideals thousands of men and women have died defending are now cast aside, at the whims of politicians and lawmakers looking only to secure their own power and through the apathy of the American public, who would rather vote for the winner of American Idol than vote for president, a body of citizens who are more willing to change the channel than change the world. More than a third of graduating 12th graders have no understanding of civics and how government works. These are the people with which we are entrusting the future.
So how do we reverse the slide? Can we?
According to Pitts, one of the best ways is to defend the 1st Amendment, even when its use would mean that some truly vile people—like Nazis, religious extremists or other terrible people—would get their say. And this leads to the title of the lecture—there is no “call me out my name” exemption to the 1st Amendment, and even when you’re profoundly offended, the 1st Amendment is worth defending.