In my writing room, I keep a copy of the U. S. Constitution—Amendments included—on my desk as a reminder to be grateful for those who wrote it, why they wrote it, and how I benefit. I see it everyday.
It also reminds me of how lucky I am to be a writer living in a country that is directed by the law of the land to protect free speech. I’ve visited other countries where there are no such laws. So, today, I thought I’d give it some attention here. In particular, I’ll share a few thoughts about the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and why it matters to me personally.
First Amendment
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”
Why this is on my mind
First, having been enmeshed in a highly controlling Bible-based cult for a long time—one that exerted undue influence over followers and condemned dissidents—I’m particularly grateful our government is prohibited from favoring one religion over another and allows for people to freely exercise their religious beliefs. I’m not a constitutional lawyer, but my understanding of this Amendment is that no particular religion is to be made the “official religion” of the U.S., and it means people can worship or not according to their consciences.
Note: A troublesome issue related to this is that courts may occasionally lack the gumption to prosecute an alleged criminal cultic behavior because the cult organization cries that their religious beliefs are being attacked. I won’t cite examples here. This topic is beyond the scope of this blog.
Secondly, I’m grateful this amendment states that no law can be passed that abridges the freedom of speech or of the press, or the right of the people to assemble peacefully, or to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.” Aren’t we all grateful? Don’t we all want to keep these freedoms?
For a society to be free from a leader with authoritarian tendencies, i.e. an oppressive dictator type, the society must remind their representatives to protect these rights granted by the law of the land.
Voting matters.
Freedoms to flourish
Writing, I’ve discovered, is how I express myself best. I enjoy the right to free expression. Every day. I’m a member of and regular blog contributor to the Florida Writers Association (FWA). I write nearly every day for my own sanity and my husband’s, to create stories and poems, for blog posts like this one, and for what become FWA blog posts.
I’m also member of the nationwide Authors Guild, which has been protecting authors rights since 1912. Whether or not you’re a writer, I trust that you, too, have a vested interest in this topic. No matter your walk of life, I urge you to remember the importance of standing up for First Amendment rights. These freedoms enable us to flourish as individuals and as a civilized society.
Side note: I’m well aware that freedom of speech has certain restraints, such as not yelling FIRE in a movie theater just to create panic, not slandering others, not engaging in defamation of character, etc. There are libel laws in place for good reasons.
Free press
I think most people who care to read my blogs understand how vital these freedoms are to a democracy, and that a free press is vital to helping us keep it. So I guess I’m just writing this for the record. These days, I’m worried about the free press and the work of reliable, professional journalists. A free press provides information to citizens so they can make good decisions. An informed citizenry!? These days, it’s nearly impossible to keep up with every issue and its proponents and opponents, nuances of policies, the latest breaking news story, etc. But somehow I am trying to keep a clear head and continue to stand for values we know make a democracy. For some good info on the terms “democracy,” “republic,” and “constitutional republic,” click here.
Falling for it
In a recent presentation about my cult experiences, I included the following to liven things up (nothing like quoting yourself).
“One of my favorite humorists is Oscar Wilde, who quoted someone else who might have originated the adage, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” I have a strong sense that people who don’t stand for values like respectful discussion, empathy, and transparent leadership may find themselves falling for a cult.”
For this blog, at the end of the last sentence I’ll add, “or something other than a democracy.”
Strong democracies
“The strongest democracies flourish from frequent and lively debate, but they endure when people of every background and belief find a way to set aside smaller differences in service of a greater purpose.” Barack Obama, press conference, Feb. 9, 2009. Read more at Notable Quotes.
Well, after reading the above over and over, I realize my blabbering may be preaching to the choir, but I guess I just needed to get it all down in writing here. Thanks for reading.
See you next time!
Your writer on the wing,
Charlene
Billy Williams
Freedom is precious. In the Way I thought I had “freedom”, but it was in reality a restriction to stay loyal to the “ministry”. In my first Way Corps year, we had that camping trip exercise which was suppose to show us what life would be like without freedom. Instead it further tightened our restrictions by presumably showing us how important it was to stick together because we might have to defend ourselves (with arms, yet) and we couldn’t do that outside the group. That was followed later in the Corps by the charade that the country’s government was imminently falling. All this time, I (and a lot of others 🙂 ) was being locked into waythink, that there was not freedom outside of the Way. Ironically, the deprogramming which was supposed to get me out of the cult worked only with my physical body; the resentment locking me into Waythink for decades. That is why I am now undergoing counseling for the sexual assault and so much other trauma that happened during those years. BUT freedom to think as I want, finally, feels SO good.
Linda Goddard
I agree with you, Billy Williams, that freedom is precious. And I’m thankful to Charlene for this blog topic on our fundamental rights as U. S. Citizens.
I’m not quite sure exactly how the, yet again, exposure of sexual abuse and pedaphilia within the Catholic Church relates, but when Catholic children are raised to believe that the priest is the closest representative of God that a human being can be, how are these innocent victims supposed to understand that their priest’s sexual invasion of their physical, emotional, and spiritual selves is criminal, that the priest has taken from them their precious powers of freedom?
The Catholic Priesthood has been another firmly entrenched and very powerful “Good Old Boy” system that has purposefully and systemically protected sexual criminals who have grossly abused their positions of power as spiritual guides for those innocent children, now having to spend years in counseling unraveling what’s happened to them, and working to take back their personal power and freedom.
Priests need to take themselves or be taken down from those elevated pedistals. And the Good Old Boy network must be broken open.
I also will add that I am a returned Catholic, and I do feel spiritually fed in many ways within my faith community, and I also see that this powerful institution of church must be held accountable for its crimes.
I will always support truth rather than loyalty to abuse of power and protection of bad and criminal behavior, at least I do hope that I have the good sense and awareness to do so.
And a final comment, speaking of freedom of speech and press, I do wish that women would stop being their own worst enemies. I guess I best begin with myself.
Thank you again, for this blog topic, Charlene.
Roz
Thanks for this, Charlene. Beautiful thoughts on our freedom and the 1st Amendment. We all need to take this seriously and fight for our democracy (or Contstitutional republic) as someone reminded me recently. Be sure to vote and encourage others.