posted July 23, 2003
Around this time 227 years ago a group of rich, lily white men from 13 colonies scattered about the Eastern Seaboard of the Continent of North America gathered to make their beliefs known to their monarch. To a man, the signers of the Declaration of Independence knew this representation of beliefs, the culmination of all political and religious thought available to them from the beginning of time, could lead to their personal destruction.
Near the end of the hallowed document we find the following words: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." To colonies yoked by the British Mercantile system supported by troops quartered in homes and by taxes levied without consent of the governed decided freedom bettered the cost of continence no matter the real threat of personal misfortune. The Continental Congress' flight from Philadelphia in front of the British Army in 1777 reinforces to us what the delegates knew.
After much fighting and dying resulting in the ratification of The Articles of Confederation (singed in 1777 and ratified in 1781) and The Treaty of Paris (1782) our nascent democracy found that a loose confederacy of states could not guarantee the aims of Revolution.
In 1788 another group of lily white men gathered in Philadelphia to fine tune the Articles. Instead of reforming the unworkable, the framers gave us a bloodless coup culminating in our Constitution. The Constitution of the United States gave our country the means with which to be governed.
Few of the rights we cherish today are enumerated in seven Articles of the Constitution although broad language embracing a sweep of personal rights were included in the Preamble as the stated goal of the document. James Madison redressed the balance in the first congress by providing us with our greatest gift from the lily white men — The Bill of Rights. These amendments answered the Indictments of the Declaration of Independence in the hope of restraining the new government from replicating the old order.
As free speech rights are the rage of the week, let's study the section of the 1st Amendment that with the language pertaining to free speech. "Congress shall make no law......abridging the freedom of speech......"
I take this to mean that my government cannot tell me what to say, wear, pierce, tattoo, etc....as long as I, as described by the U.S. Supreme Court, do not represent a "clear and present danger" to my government or other citizens - John Stuart Mill's "harm principle" spoken though Mr. Justice Holmes.
Nowhere is it said that individuals have the right not to be judged by other citizens on the content of their speech, and that others cannot express their views in opposition short of the "clear and present danger" standard. The founders gave each of us the right to speak our minds without the pain of death. The problem we must grapple with is the pain of listening, and the pain of deciding if the speech we utter is worth the cultural, political and financial costs inherent in self definition. Once we publicly define ourselves, others have the right to interpret our public utterances and actions by their inherent freedom of expression born from their life experience.
Galileo, Jefferson, Luther understood their beliefs conflicted with the established order. The penalty of expressing nonconforming thought was death and/or excommunication (a sentence to hell). These great men considered their lives nothing if they could not live their ideals. Now that's freedom.
The freedom we have today is also personal decision of much lesser magnitude. Are we prepared for our expression to be met with expression? Can our ideals make a difference beyond merely clearing our breast? Are our ideals worth the effort? The 1st Amendment allows each individual the freedom to make these choices.
Also found in the 1st Amendment is the freedom of peaceable assembly. The majority of Americans assemble with those who either have common cause or generally agree with how we think, act and live our lives. During our lifetime of evolution on this earth, our beliefs based upon life experience can change forcing upheaval with whom and what we assemble.
I thank The Chattanoogan for allowing me the space to share my views. The Chattanoogan is the only medium in our area where local opinion is welcomed and disseminated in broad form.
David W. Moon
tncolmoon2@aol.com
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