The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is one of the 10 amendments that make up the Bill of Rights, ratified on December 15, 1791:
"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."
Abridge (Merriam-Webster Dictionary): a-To make shorter; to diminish; curtail. b-To shorten. . . c-To deprive; to cut off; as to abridge a person of his rights.
Ergo: If there can be no law abridging the freedom of speech, there also can be no “lawful” restrictions regarding or tampering with the structure, content, or length of any U.S. citizen’s verbal or written verbiage by the government. And so far in America free speech is still protected against government interference or censorship.
But let us remember that “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” (old saying).
Ergo: Verbal insults or taunting or criticism cannot harm or (to use a widespread term of today) “abuse” anyone physically. The “saying” is typically used to remind people of that fact and encourage emotional resilience against letting anyone else’s opinion affect personal self-esteem.
So, speech is not a weapon no matter how hateful. And right after the protection of free speech in the First Amendment, the Second Amendment protects our right to possess physical arms which are weapons.
So, if speech is not a real weapon, why is it being “weaponized” today? Lies can be fact-checked and countered with truth. But how is what has come to be called “hate speech” actually harming anyone? And why is it being censored by (for example) social media platforms and even “monitored” by U.S. government agencies like the FBI?
Increasingly, saying (or posting) anything that might "trigger" any individual or group “sensitivity” is becoming risky and may be labeled "hate speech."
Free speech is the most basic and essential of all rights, and it doesn’t matter how unsavory, agitated, or hateful it may be. Furthermore, it lets us know what other people are thinking, and that can be very useful in judging information ... and judging the people who deliver it.
Granted, private companies can set their own rules, but what underlies the censorship of so-called “hate speech” if not to encourage victimization on the part of the person(s) being hated? Victimization has become very popular these days and generally paves the way to special privileges for groups identified by race, gender, and so on.
Group identification encourages a tribal mentality that sets one tribe against another to obtain victimization status and this, then, causes more hate which leads to splintering the populace into competing groups. And a country divided into competing groups cannot stand united as in “The United States of America.”
The result of censoring hate speech simply causes more hate speech which, in turn, causes more division.
What better way to destroy a nation than to pit its inhabitants against each other? And what could be an easier path to power for those who would destroy America?
And why must America be destroyed as an independent united nation by those who lust after power? Because as the brainchild of Enlightenment values — individualism, reason, true science, personal ambition, and self-sustaining responsibility — it still stands as the universal symbol for Liberty.
So, the global elites who want a “global government” to provide a power base for themselves need for America to perish not only as a free country but also as an idea before they can control ... well, “the globe.”
Alexandra York is an author and founding president of the American Renaissance for the Twenty-first Century (ART) a New-York-City-based nonprofit educational arts and culture foundation. She has written for many publications, including "Reader's Digest" and The New York Times. She is the author of "Crosspoints A Novel of Choice." Her most recent book is "Soul Celebrations and Spiritual Snacks." For more on Alexandra York — Go Here Now.