What does this mean to you? 

This is such a unique thing that we as Americans have. There’s not another country on Earth that has anything quite like the First Amendment. The ability to say hey you government. What you’re doing is wrong. What you’re doing is stupid. You can even say what you’re doing is the dumbest thing I have ever seen. It doesn’t matter because you as an American have a right to say whatever you want and no matter what the government cannot take that up away from you. It doesn’t matter what you say. You can say whatever you want. The government can’t say anything about it, they can’t, they legally can’t, and it’s a right that you have and is protected under the law that has to be enforced and is normally enforced. When it’s not we have the obligation to say that’s not right. You, government cannot take that away from us. You can’t. It is the biggest protection that we have is the biggest and most important tool that we have in our toolbox in this Democratic system to say hey. I think we can do this differently. I don’t think we should do this. I want to do this. I think that’s a great idea.

 We have to exercise this right regularly or else it doesn’t mean anything. We had a protest on Saturday. We stood up and said no, what you are doing GOP is wrong and you are hurting all of us. Not caring about political violence until now is not okay. I am glad that you have got on the train but you should have been here the whole time. In fact they aren’t even really saying that it’s wrong, the GOP is using it as a way to attack anyone who is not repeating the message. They are basically saying if you say anything that we don’t like you are an enemy of the state. There’s this French Philosopher named Edmund Burke I believe and he argued that  It’s a Grave error for any country to govern based on an ideology, government can be used as a positive force instead of a negative force, leaders should govern according what would creat stability. People can’t fit the ideology, ideology has to fit the people. What the administration is trying to do is make people fit the ideology. Woke bad, transgender is not real, gay marriage is not biblical, vaccines harm, what do we need social programs for, the world owes us, all hail Trump. That’s not America. We tend to not like things forced onto us. Remember no taxes without representation? They want us to praise this version of America that doesn’t exist. They want to silence the ones who speak out against that. 

 So many people I meet talk about how what’s going on is terrible. They can’t believe this is going on but what are they saying about it? Nothing. They don’t say anything about it, they don’t do anything about it. They hope somebody else will. Somebody else will do it. Somebody else will come along and say what I think in my head. Somebody else will do it for me. That’s not enough. What would we be without the First Amendment? The people who founded this country used power of speech. I think to change all 13 colonies minds and say we together are saying no to you Great Britain. What you’re doing is wrong. What you’re doing is not right, what you’re doing is not fair to us. We do not recognize your authority here. Imagine if they waited around for somebody else to say it. 

You face consequences for what you say, but the government cannot give you consequences, only you and I can. We can give each other consequences. I can disagree to the end of my days what you are saying and you can do the same to me. The government cannot though. The government could not take that away from us. They can’t, it’s something that is natural to us to talk to speak out. No matter what your opinion is, you have a right to say it and the government can’t take it away. This past week I’ve been battling with an incessant need to say something and I hear and this is what I’ve been hearing from a lot of people. I’m afraid to say what I really think. Why, don’t be, the only entity who would criminally bar you from using your voice. Can’t do anything about it. Use it. It’s there for you. It is an inalienable right. What does that mean? It is something that cannot be taken away from you no matter what. You were born with it and it will never go away. Guys, they want to take it away. What are you going to do when they are standing at the gates? Are you going to let them in or are you going to stop them? Are you going to speak up or are you going to stay silent? I encourage you to speak up.

When there is a coup what is the first thing that is taken over, it’s not the executive building, it’s not the legislature, it’s the tv and radio stations, the internet towers. It is speech that is controlled, it is speech that is silenced. The perpetrations of the coup need to put out a message that makes sure that the citizens don’t rise up against them. They need to make sure that the most powerful tool that could stop them is under control. They need to make sure that the citizens are hearing the “correct” message. Speech is at the very core of democracy. Without it how would we be able to challenge ideas, have a conversation, and come to some sort of understanding? How would we be able to stand up for ourselves? How would we be able to speak our minds, no matter how crazy, dark, innocent, or dumb they may be? Speech is at the center of our lives and it makes us, Americans, unique. Our allies, the ones we have left, are jealous of our right to free speech, they wish they had it. Unfortunately for them, of the government gave them the right to free speech, the governments would lose quite a bit of control over the population. They would lose the thing that allows them to hold on to power over their citizens. Our enemies hate us because the right we have to freedom of speech scares them. The immense power the ordinary citizen has over the government frightens them. The fear is that of the people they rule over began to think that they have a right to freedom of speech they would rise up and topple the government. They are right to fear the freedoms we have for those freedoms are the reason this country was born. I hope that more people around the world wake up to see the immense power we as Americans have through our speech. Though some of us may not have a lot to say, when we say something, we say it proudly. 

Authoritarians throughout history have suppressed speech, especially criticisms of them. I understand controlling speech that criticised them, as an authoritarian you do not want dissent among the people. What I do not understand is the crack down on making fun of these authoritarians, for many, this is an even more egregious offence compared to dissent. I find this characteristic the most interesting because as a “strong leader” they shouldn’t be phased by someone poking fun at them. Yet, those individuals who make fun of their authoritarian leaders are prosecuted to the full extent of the law, if they haven’t been disappeared. President Xi is called Pooh Bear, Kim Jong Un is a “little vampire” who sucks up money, President Putin is called “Bunker Grandpa” because of the way he isolated himself during the covid-19 pandemic, not to mention the countless shirtless horseback memes. Now these names don’t seem like a big deal yet they get to these authoritarians so much that they take action against the people who say these things. I think this petty behavior sounds like someone else that is constantly on our minds; President Trump. President Trump cannot take any sort of joke. Who remembers T.A.C.O? How about how the President has baby hands, or how about his hair, or the fact that he obviously douces himself with cheeto dust every hour? These are all pretty harmless jokes right? NO! These are grave offenses and the people who say these things hate the President and they probably HATE AMERICA. We all know that is not true and that these jokes that people say about President Trump are protected speech. By the way, according to the right and to the President, President Trump is not an authoritarian. Jimmy Kimmel was suspended for some jokes he made about the President, Stephen Colbert’s show was unofficially canceled because the President didn’t like what he had to say. Officially Colbert’s show was cancelled because of budget cuts and somehow Kimmel’s show was suspended because of ratings… Both people who criticized and made jokes about the President. In the first term the President called protesters “thugs” and “terrorists.” The President had to be talked out of deploying the military to end the protests of 2020. Again, the President is not an authoritarian. The President has sued numerous news outlets over speech he doesn’t like because it is “offensive” to him. The George Stephonopolis case with ABC is a good example. Stephonopoulus said on air that the President “raped E Jean Carrol” in an interview and the President sued for defamation. This case was settled by ABC instead of ABC standing by their reporter. There was no defamation as what Stephonopoulis said is within the bounds of sexual assault. The President suppressed speech that day.  In the controversy of today surrounding the assasination of Charlie Kirk it is forbidden for anyone to criticize Mr. Kirk. If you do, you are a radical leftist who is deranged. While that is fine to say as it is protected speech, Vice President Vance said while guest hosting Charlie Kirk’s podcast after his murder that if you know someone who speaks negatively of Charlie Kirk then you should call them out on it and then call their employer to get them fired. The Vice President is encouraging citizens to harm one another over speech. The President often remarks that the left are the ones that commit political violence and encourage it. This is not true, bad people commit political violence and bad people encourage it. It doesn’t matter what side you are on, political violence is bad. It doesn’t matter if 60% percent of violence is committed by one side and 40% by the other, the 40% is just as dangerous as the 60%. No matter what it needs to end. The President should not be attacking one side, instead he should be bringing the country together. At the funeral for Charlie Kirk, the President talked about how he hated the left and that in a fight, the right would win over the left. Historically the right has lost these battles to the left… The President basically encouraged the right to take up arms against the left. Once again the President is not an authoritarian, but he is afraid. He is small and he fears what you have to say about him. The President cannot take a joke, he cannot take criticism. He doesn’t want you to speak your mind because if you do then you have power. The President believes that he has absolute power and it is law that he does not because the President does not have the ability to strip you of your speech, your freedom to assembly, the freedom of the press, and your freedom of religion.

This is a critical time in our nation’s history as our right to freedom of speech is being challenged by an authoritarian. The United States is not an authoritarian state, we may have an authoritarian in the White House, but he does not take our rights away.

Matthew Felipe

President | Indivisible Neers