Freedom of Speech

Colin Kaepernick chose not to stand while the National Anthem was being played before a football game recently.  He has the right to do that.

The first amendment to the US constitution states, in pertinent part, that “Congress shall make no law * * * abridging the freedom of speech.”  It means what is says:  “Congress” cannot curtail speech.  Based on case law, state and local governments can’t either.

Every state has always had its own state constitutional provision guaranteeing freedom of speech.  So, in many respects the Supreme Court was doubling down when it interpreted the fourteenth amendment to incorporate freedom of speech, thereby making the first amendment enforceable against state and local governments as well as the federal government.

Kaepernick was expressing a political opinion, the most protected kind of speech there is.  It’s the kind of speech that used to cause people to say things like:  “I disapprove of what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it.”  This quote is often attributed to Voltaire, but was created from whole cloth by historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall as an example of Voltaire’s beliefs.  http://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/06/01/defend-say/

“Speech” is quite expansive.  It covers speaking, writing, activity (burning flags), and inactivity (not standing during the National Anthem), among other things.  If a person is expressing a political opinion in just about any form, the expression is likely protected from the state police.  Alas, nothing protects us from the PC police.

The PC police come in two variants.  The liberal PC police stand against any expression that offends or disparages or that could offend or disparage any particular individual or group.  Use of an outdated term to refer to a group of people, for example “oriental” instead of “asian,” is likely to be met with PC condemnation.  Even if that term, say “Redskins,” is deemed non-offensive by 90% of the group being “disparaged.”  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2016/05/24/redskins-name-poll-didnt-change-the-opinions-of-peter-king-and-bob-costas/

Conservatives hate the liberal PC police, but they love their own brand of political correctness.  PC conservatives stand against any expression that offends or disparages the US military, the country, or the flag.  They are prone to invite a speaker who offends their brand of political correctness to find another country to live in.

What I find particularly interesting about political correctness, whether liberal or conservative, is how little respect the PC police give to the right of others to freely express themselves.  The PC police most assuredly do not espouse the principles of Voltaire, instead of defending the rights of others, they seek to inhibit them.  But, of course, that is their right — they are not Congress.

The PC police are everywhere – in your neighborhood, in your school (maybe especially in your school), in your workplace, and perhaps coaching your team.  John Tortorella, the head coach of the Team USA World Cup team, has declared that he will bench any player who refuses to stand during the National Anthem.  In doing so, he is declaring his concept of political correctness (thou must not disparage the flag) to be more important than his players’ right to express a political opinion.

All Americans have the freedom to say what we want and we have the freedom to be offended by what others say.  We do both of these things with abandon – and I hope we never stop.