Today, KSL featured a story in which a teenaged Jewish boy was praying using boxes that contained scrolls while on an airplane. This caused anxiety on the part of the captain and crew, and the plane was diverted to Philadelphia where the FBI was waiting with bomb sniffing dogs. Eventually, the boy and his sister were cleared and allowed to resume their travels.
This story reminds me of the aftermath of school shootings when children would get into trouble for bringing toy guns to school. When a major tragedy happens, sometimes, we allow fear of its repetition to take control over our daily activities. We seem to live in a climate of fear which is harmful to the freedom of our nation. The knowledge of a terrorist attack causes us to be more suspicious of people. On the other hand, there is the other extreme of being unaware of situations that can cause harm or threaten lives. At some point, we need to ask ourselves if our fear is inhibiting our freedom.
The constitution is an example of this. There is a risk for some of the rights it provides. The freedom of speech carries with it the fear that someone may say something that is offensive. Thus, people may work to inhibit that freedom. The right to bare arms carries with it the fear that people will kill each other with those weapons. The signers of the Declaration of Independence took the risk of being ostracized and possibly hanged for treason. In some of the cases listed above, these fears were well founded. Yet, we don’t advocate throwing out the constitution, and the signers of the Declaration of Independence are remembered as heroes.
It has been my experience that fear stifles freedom. Fear can immobilize people. It can cause them to not want to leave the house. It can prevent them from expressing an opinion. It can prevent people from making friends, or applying for a new job, or moving to a new place. In effect, it can keep someone from living a fulfilling life. They thus become its prisoners. They are not free to make choices that involve some risk because they might fail or be hurt by that choice even if the choice has the potential of making their circumstances better.
I am concerned that as we allow fear to become a part of our culture, our freedom will be limited. We may find that there is an abridgement of the basic freedoms of speech and of religion. We may find ourselves shackled with excessive laws and unnecessary regulations. Even as fear can immobilize an individual, it can inhibit the freedom of a nation.
Posts Tagged ‘Freedom Of Speech’
Fear or Freedom
Friday, January 22nd, 2010Global Online Freedom Act: a Bill for Politivote
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
The Internet across the world
Recently, H.R.2271 was considered before Congress. This bill will promote freedom on the internet by first encouraging businesses not to cooperate with foreign governments to enact censorship on the internet. Another provision of the bill is that it asks the President of the United States to seek agreements with other countries to safeguard internet freedom.
This bill is well advised because it will do much to promote the free expression of ideas. The internet is the medium used by Politivote to accomplish our goal of simplifying democracy and making it more accessible to every citizen in this nation. Our democracy was founded on the principles of self-government. In order to have self-government, it is essential to have freedom of speech. Without this crucial freedom, self-government is dead. Of all the mediums used in this society, the internet does the most to promote free speech. The reason is that anyone can put anything on the internet. Unlike TV and radio, you don’t have to get your own show. There is no one to screen ideas or sensor them. Anything can be put on the net where it can be read by the general public and we can decide for ourselves whether or not we want to accept it as fact. This gives us as consumers of information the opportunity and responsibility to exercise our judgment in what information we choose to consume. No one will screen it for us. In using the internet, we have the sole responsibility to make sure that which we consume will benefit us. This is the main reason that I support this bill. The bill promotes an environment in which the citizen has a wealth of information available to them, and the citizen decides on the information he or she will use or discard. The freedom of access to ideas and information is the essence of self-government.
Constitution Day: a Day to Remember
Thursday, September 24th, 2009On September 17, 1787, an event took place that ranks in importance with the signing of the declaration of independence. The constitution of the United States was ratified.
I regret that this was not written a week ago on the actual day, but the knowledge of this day causes me to reflect on the significance of the constitution particularly in today’s heated political climate.
How well do we as Americans know the Constitution? If you stop to think about it, this document impacts us on a daily basis as citizens from the freedom of speech to the right against illegal search and seizure to the right to vote. At politivote, we advocate becoming politically active and participating in this democracy. If we are ever to reach that goal, a thorough knowledge of this great document is imperative. How can we participate in a government if we as a citizenry are ignorant of the rules by which it operates?
If the average citizen should be familiar with the constitution, how much more important is it for our elected officials to know the constitution? I remember watching Obama’s ascent into the office of president, and hearing about intelligence briefs he was already receiving. There is doubtless much the in coming president needs to know about current national affairs in order to govern effectively. Each in coming president ought to make it a high priority to know each and every article and amendment of the constitution. Sense the president has probably held prior political office, they should already have this knowledge as a senator or governor or any other post of leadership in this country. If we as a citizenry take the time to become familiar with and moreover, appreciate this document, we will be better able to participate in our government and our leaders will be able to govern more effectively.