Are We Free to Believe?

Although hate speech is protected by the first amendment, is spite the only middle ground that can be found against adversaries and views which challenge others? 

Drew Brees sponsored an anti-bullying movement in 2010 called the "It Gets Better Project," and in his call to action he proclaims "Appreciate people for how they are different from you: That's what it takes to be a friend. Bullying has to stop, and it starts with you." This received high praise nationwide back then, yet our nation appears to have taken a shift within this past decade. 

In recent actions, Brees participated in a movement called "Bring Your Bible to School Day," which in return he received heavy backlash from those who disapprove of the belief in the Bible and children have been bullied for bringing the Bible to school. Fifth grader Giovanni Rubeo spent his recess reading the Bible, and faculty demanded that Giovanni was to rid of the book for it is a disturbance within the building, even going as far as to "threatening to call his father" to bring them home; are we now letting our first amendment right to believe and practice whatever religion we please get in the way of the education of our nations future possible leaders? How are we to develop a free thinking nation if it is instilled withing our school systems at such an early age to shun certain beliefs and actions and accept others. 

Another instance of this hate/bullying comes up against Dr. Eric Walsh. Dr. Walsh has a bachelors degree, M.D. and a doctorate in public health; he is accredited with founding the first dental practical office which treats patients with AIDS and HIV. Welsh also was appointed by former president Obama to the President's Commission on HIV and AIDS, he also was listed by several within the medical field to be elected as the US Surgical General. Dr. Walsh is immensely respected throughout the nation, and he also is a lay pastor who ministers locally in his region in California, and has been invited to several conferences nationally to preach. 

Dr. Walsh was faced with adversary when crowds chased him off the stage during his commencement speech at Pasadena Community College for his faith. This ridicule followed his career into Georgia, where he was hired as the state dental director; his employers received news of his preaching background and proceeded to fire him the very next day after requesting to review his sermons. 

Furthermore, this all comes full circle to bullying; why would we go through all this trouble to discriminate upon someone for being different than you, when we can be a friend who uplifts those who differ from one another. We were each created beautifully and placed strategically within this free country, so allow one another to freely practice and pursue our beliefs without persecution.

Our Commitment to Religious Liberty  

Antitrust Policies Against Large Corporations

Ever since the our Bill of Rights has been written, the first amendment has always faced trials and errors to perfect our nation's promise of liberty and the fight for equality and expression. Over the centuries new issues surface, from unprotected actions and determining what is protected speech; today we find ourselves in a new era where the government has to take strides to enforce the first amendment upon large scale corporations. 

Facebook is now under pressure as several states consisting of Florida, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee and including Washing ton D.C. come together to launch an investigation based upon anti-trust. With the attorney general Letitia James leading the investigation, she claims that the focus is upon "Facebook's impact on advertising prices, data, and consumer products. 'We will use every investigative tool ... to determine whether Facebook's actions may have endangered consumer data, reduced the quality of consumers' choices, or increased the price of advertising.'" 

Several corporations such as Apple, Amazon and Twitter have undergone this type of investigation before; the issue that brings these corporations to the  jurors table is the fact that they attain personal information and sell the information to buyers. This a huge violation of our first amendment rights, the right to privacy is a staple that this nation was founded on and should aim to keep secure. In addition, in a monopolous act by aiming to shut down competition, these corporations only promote what they desire you to see. In the instance of the news, Google was placed under investigation for 'hiding' certain political stances from searches and only promoting what they as an organization desire you to filter through your mind. This is an act of propaganda and goes against the freedom of equal expression.

We need to stand against these corporations in the name of freedom and privacy, and under the first amendment which protects us. 

Supreme Court

The supreme court has a unique history which began with humble beginnings; with one decision the demanding authority would be set in place forever.

During the case of Marbury v. Madison, Marshall ruled in favor of Madison, yet kept a grip upon the federalist view by deeming that no action shall be made outside the ruling of the constitution. "It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is." This quote secured the authority of the supreme court in our national government. 

Our court has faced several tribulations over the past 200 years, including the issues of slavery, including Dred Scott which would be forever changed by the Civil War. The enactment of the fourteenth amendment brought a new era of liberties for the American people - this act of viewing all peoples as equal influences the civil rights movements then and present day. 

During interviews with present day justices, they confess that the court has seen much growth over the centuries; they have the access of the wisdom and failures of previous justices whereas the former did not - by trial and error the road to liberty has exponentially increased and will continue to influence our nations future. 

Why is Our Nation so Divided?

As stated by Senator John McCain, "We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with tribal rivalries and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been."

Over the past decade, we have become a polarized nation - groups that lean from the extreme left and to the extreme right who cannot formulate the desire to find a middle ground. What influences these rival passions? 

Social media has become the largest platform of free expression for not just political leaders, but individuals who have strong passions they desire to share as well. The advantage of having social media is a crucial necessity for those who consider themselves influencers. Unfortunately, the essence of these platforms, such as instagram and twitter, have been tainted by the art of propaganda and the creation of "fake news." Far left and far right programs, such as CNN and FOX, are effective in reaching their audiences by riveting every story line to create a stimulus that every viewpoint that is not in alignment with theirs are considerably threats to our nation and seen as enemies. 

Furthermore, parties in leadership make minimal efforts for cooperation with other political parties. Considerably, majority of those elected in high offices are those who have strong and passionate aims that conflict upon with other parties, creating unnecessary arguments out of petty desires. The fact that our nation also lacks the education of current political positions and pursuits hinder them from recognizing the truth at stake; whereas we all choose to select tidbits of information, which can be twisted, on social media and taking these claims as fact.

Our nation lacks the discipline to conduct further research of what acts of government are being instilled into the institution of our United States; with the intentional twisting of information upon mainstream media sources and the lack of understanding the underlying depth of each issue, we create an institution of shattered plains which refers to solutions of anger and violence.