Fighting Words, MAGA Hats, and the First Amendment

             “Wearing MAGA hats provokes and insults people of color.”

“Aligning oneself openly with Trump’s movement sends an aggressive political message.”

“Anyone who wears a MAGA hat is racist.”

These and similar statements can be heard from the Left regularly; they have intensified in the wake of the attacks on the Covington boys.   

These and similar statements are a frightening trend that threatens one of the very cores of our Democracy – the First Amendment right to free speech.

The First Amendment protects speech, including symbolic speech.  The wearing of a MAGA hat or other politically identifying apparel (a campaign pin or T-shirt for example) are symbolic speech which is defined as a non-verbal communication that conveys a message or statement to those viewing it.  

While our free speech rights are not absolute, any restrictions must be as narrow as possible so as not to interfere any more than is absolutely necessary with the fundamental right of free expression.  The government can, in appropriate instances, put reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on speech.  “Fighting words,” words intended to incite an immediate breach of the peace, are not protected.  However, the government cannot restrict speech so as to force one to only speak or hold a particular opinion.  Even hate speech is protected by the First Amendment.

Freedom of speech goes hand in hand with freedom of thought, both of which are essential to democracy.  Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in part that “everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.” 

Yet, the Left, in their repeated attacks on the MAGA hat, come frighteningly close to attempts to deny free speech and the free thought behind it.  Their behavior, not only toward the Covington boys, but to many other wearers of MAGA apparel, has a chilling effect on others who might desire to make a similar symbolic political statement but fear the attacks that doing so would bring.  Laura Ingraham has suggested that this is a form of voter suppression.  I would agree. 

Further, I fear that the Left is on the verge of using their attacks of the symbolic MAGA speech as a way to restrict that speech as some sort of “fighting word” exception to the First Amendment freedoms.  That would be a slippery slope indeed, for to restrict an opposing political view simply because it is upsetting to those who do not hold that view would put us well on the way to a country in which any and all opposing speech and its underlying ideas could be banned.  Such a country is not a democracy but a dictatorship.

The Left seems to have little regard for the First Amendment and its protection of speech when that speech is something they disagree with or do not want to hear.  They seem to have no problem with shouting down, intimidating, silencing any thought or expression that is not their own.  This says volumes about their respect for democracy itself.  For it is the sharing of diverse ideas in a marketplace of open and free speech that is an absolute necessity for a democracy that is a government of, by, and for the people.  To care about democracy is to defend free speech, even when it says something that you find offensive. 

Only by sharing diverse ideas, by having tolerance for diverse views and openly presenting and discussing varying ways to address an issue can we grow and evolve as a country.  Symbolic speech has been a powerful movant at difficult times in our history; that speech is frequently political and almost always offensive to someone.  Yet, we need that speech if we are to continue to be the free country that stands as a beacon of free thought to the world.  If only the Left would remember that and defend rather than try to extinguish free and diverse speech along with the thought behind it.

The Bloodthirsty Left

Two years and counting since the blind hatred of the Left began to boil.  One would think it would be cooling, but its temperature continues rising daily.

The Left wants to destroy everyone that does not bow down to them and all their views.  Now it is a group of high school boys who were attacked, accused of being attackers, and, though that has been proven untrue, continue to be the subjects of hatred and violent threats.  What did they do wrong?  Well, for starters some wore MAGA hats – an unpardonable sin in the Left’s view.  They go to a Catholic school and assert their Christian faith and values in the face of vitriolic hatred.  Those values are another unpardonable sin.  So, the Left calls for doxing of their names (publication of their names and addresses for malicious intent).  They and their families are receiving hate and death threats.  Their school is closed due to security concerns.  All this for simply peacefully wearing a hat and holding true to their faith. 

This is the Left.  This is their normal behavior.  Silence in any way possible those who do not hold their views.   Destroy anyone who is not them.  We saw this with their attempted destruction of Justice Kavanaugh and his family.  They failed – or did they? They now call for perjury charges against him – for what?  For telling the truth in the face of their lies and false charges against him.

The Left believes that their views are the only ones that should be allowed.  Regardless of their factual truth.  Notwithstanding that in this country we protect diverse views – or at least that used to be one of our ideals.  The Left would silence if not destroy all who disagree.

I understand this tactic of their leaders who, as any examination of the actual facts of their behavior reveals, seek a world in which they hold absolute power and control every thought and act of their subjects, keeping those subjects fully dependent on their every whim.  But, what I do not understand is that their followers accept, indeed follow them.

I do not understand how anyone with even half a brain or half a heart or any understanding of American values can accept the behavior of the Left.  Their continued calls for violence against anyone not holding their views.  Their many ways, both subtle and blatant, of intimidating those who are not one of them.  It is as if so many of their followers are in some sort of a drugged state as they follow blindly behind this destructive leadership of the Left.

The Left loves to throw feel good promises to their followers.  I have been listening to their candidates throwing their hats into the 2020 ring.  They all use the word “fight” in their speeches.  I will fight for this or that group.  They continue to stoke the hatred of identity politics.  I have yet to hear any of them assert that they will fight for the tolerance and respect for diverse views that is a cornerstone of our democracy.  Their promises that their government will give every group everything they want is a true “opiate of the masses.”  Yet, that opiate will destroy America.

The bloodthirsty Left cares only about itself.  Promises to this or that group are ways to gain that group’s support, but as soon as they are not useful, the Left will be happy to destroy them as well.  The Left’s thirst is for their own power and to keep that power they will destroy anything and anyone; they will keep necessary supporters not by empowering them, but by keeping them dependent and by feeding them lies.

This is a very scary time to be anything but a lock-step Leftist.  The hatred being stoked by the Left grows daily.  They want their way and only their way and they are happy to destroy any and all who stand between them and the ultimate power that they seek.  Their calls for killing (yes, killing!) of the young boys who they wrongfully accused and attacked, should shock us all, but sadly, it is the sort of thing we hear daily from the Left.  Yet, we must not let ourselves become immune to this.

The behavior of the Left is irrational and bloodthirsty hatred.  It is destructive, both to the specific individuals whom are attacked and also to the people of this country as a whole. Those who are lulled by their promises of a glorious future must see those promises for what they are – useful hooks to lure in support for the Left’s own power.  This is a frightening time for America – a time where we could lose the dignity and diversity of the individual that is a key to this and any democracy.  We must not let the hatred of the Left succeed.

The Hate Continues (and a Plea to End It)

According to Axios, the Democrats are readying at least 85 subpoenas against Trump for when they take office in January.   Click here for Article  Is this really what those who voted for them want them to do?  Is this country so filled with hate and so driven by revenge that they would rather see their elected officials act out on their animosity for the man who beat their candidate in the presidential election than work on the needs of the people who elected them?  Apparently so, because it was no secret that was the Democrat’s intent; their agenda is focused on one thing only:  get Trump by any means necessary.

I have never seen such hatred for such an extended period of time.  While the Democrats would have us believe that somehow Trump is destroying our country, the reality is that it is they, the Democrats, who are doing so.   If one goes beyond the anti-Trump propaganda one will see that our economy is booming, that unemployment is at its lowest in years (and the lowest ever for some specific groups), they will see successes in international relations including return of enormous numbers of political prisoners, renegotiation of NAFTA in a way then benefits our country, and overall a more positive and hopeful situation than America has seen in years.

Yet all these successes for this country that at least some of us still hold dear are dismissed by the anti-Trump fervor of the Left.  And their actions post the mid-term elections show that they will do anything to stop anything Trump does, including many actions that are good for America and its people.

Are the Democrats really so distressed simply by the fact that they were beaten in 2016 by someone who was a bit rough around the edges and not an erudite phony as are many of them?  President Trump is a real person who sees the real needs of this country and its people.  He doesn’t play the identity politics games that the Left finds so endearing.  He doesn’t pretend to be perfect or to be everyone’s moral superior.  He simply (and sometimes awkwardly) tries to do what is best for this country.  But is that a reason to hate someone so?  To go beyond mere dislike of policy and try to actually and completely destroy a man?

There is something more, something terribly nefarious going on here.  The Left’s present agenda seems to simply be to destroy Trump, to thwart him at every turn by any means necessary.  Those means include attacking his every word, fomenting anger and violence against him, his staff and supporters, demeaning anyone who does not take their view, using false and misleading statements to attack and destroy his appointees, and, now, attacking the very core of our democracy – our vote. 

Yes, there seems to be a playbook for close elections:  when they seem to turn to the Republican, have the Democrat candidate refuse to concede, claim every vote counts, then suddenly produce some previously unseen absentee or other ballots that amazingly go overwhelmingly for the Democrat.  (See for example New Mexico, Florida, Arizona and perhaps others as well).  This scenario may be in part due to incompetence, but the pattern seems more than a coincidence and the use of all the big-gun lawyers of the Left to further the legitimacy of questionable ballots supports the argument that the Left, when it says “count every vote” wants more than just legitimate votes counted.   These attacks on our vote are far worse than any dirty campaign trick, yes, worse than Watergate or other spying attempts, worse than making up lies about your opponent.  This is our vote and it must be honest or we will no longer have a democracy. 

So what is it that the Democrats want?  What drives them into such a frenzy of anger and hatred that they are willing to destroy the very essence of our country?  Is it simply power or is it more?  I suggest that it is a wish for the power to destroy what this country has been for over 200 years, a wish for the power to entirely remake this country into something else.   Whether that something else is a socialist state, or a country without borders (which by very definition is no country at all), or simply some unknown, I suggest that the ultimate result will not be pleasant for the majority of the people.

What do these Democrats who are so filled with hatred envision?  These are the people who are totally incapable of tolerance for views that do not match their own.  These are the people who scorn bible owners, gun owners, pot-luck participants, people of color who are conservative (don’t fit the identity label the Left has given them), women who are anti-abortion, people who want the laws enforced equally, including immigration laws, people who believe in the concept of innocence until proven guilty, indeed, anyone who does not hold and support the views of the Left.  Such intolerance is not America.

These are the Democrats who foment mobs to harass and intimidate until they get their way.  That is not America.  These are the people who excuse violence if it furthers their cause but condemn the most innocent slight if it is by someone who is not one of them.  These are the people who use false accusation to condemn a man as a rapist because he holds views they do not like, but who elect men against whom there is evidence of sexual assault or abuse when that man holds views like their own. This is hypocrisy, this is not fair, this is not America.

These are the Democrats who create identity groups, then pit them against one another not for the good of any group but only as a means to further the hatred that they believe will ultimately lead the Left to power.  If anyone thinks that they truly care about any of these people they are using then you are living in a fantasy world.  It is all about hate and that hate is all about a means of achieving power, power not for the people but for the benefit only of those who would ultimately hold it.   This, a country based on hate, is not America.

The Left is clever.   They have co-opted the media to serve as their propaganda machine.  They have co-opted social media to push their agenda while suppressing any opposition.  Like the best snake-oil salesman they make what they are selling sound like the cure for all that ails individuals, groups, and the country itself.  But in reality that snake oil is toxic.  And if we continue to imbibe then the sickness we now have will become terminal.  America as we know it will die.

Perhaps many who voted for the Left believed that with their election the hate that we see in this country would come to an end.  Wrong!  It is about to get much worse.  The Left is becoming bolder and bolder with their hatred.  The Democrat power structure is out to destroy.  Period.  That seems to be all they know how to do.  Destroy the President.  Destroy his supporters.  Destroy his dreams for a better America.  Destroy America itself. 

The only way to stop this is to stop listening to their propaganda.  To look at what is truly going on and not what they tell you and would have you believe is going on.    Close your ears to their siren songs and open your eyes to reality.  Think beyond today and see the tomorrow to which they would take us.  The Left has no intention of stopping the hate; it serves them too well.  Only we the people can stop the hate and it is well past time that we do so.

Sticks and Stones and Bones and Souls

There is an old children’s rhyme: “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.“ This rhyme, it turns out, is a lie. The name calling such as that which the Left now engages in against those of different political persuasions cuts to the quick – to the soul. More accurate than the children’s rhyme is this from Ecclesiasticus 28:17-18: “The stroke of the whip makes marks in the flesh, but a stroke of the tongue breaks the bones. Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have fallen by the tongue.”

Words can be lethal weapons that injure the spirit and crush the soul. Many on the left have learned how to weaponize words. Words can do damage far worse than a stick or a stone. Bruises heal, they are superficial, the hurt is short lived. Sharply weaponized words attack the very soul of an individual – the inner self that makes the person whom he or she is. It silences what could and probably should be a very vibrant part of whom they are.

Recently (the admittedly Right-wing source) Breitbart printed a list of 632 verified political acts against those not supporting Leftist agenda; many of these were acts of verbal harassment. (see article here) This list does not include the acts of name-calling and shaming that occur daily in simple attempts at conversation between people of differing political views. All are attempts to intimidate and silence.

I along with others I know, have personally been the recipient of nearly every epithet in the Democrat repertoire when daring to state a point of view contrary to theirs. Even though false, these epithets hurt deeply, in the way that it hurts when one is accused falsely of a crime and any attempt to prove innocence is impossible. When the attack has been especially vitriolic, I have afterwards felt a deep sadness, a sort of aloneness that reaches deep into my soul.

Are those who engage in these verbal assaults attempting to wound their perceived opponent’s soul? Maybe (this question of course assumes that they believe in such things as a soul). Do they know that this name calling is a weapon that they are using intending to cause hurt? Most probably. Is it intended to silence diverse views? Most definitely.

This weaponized name-calling is an adult version of the sticks and stones of childhood. When a child on the playground doesn’t know how to deal with something he doesn’t like or understand, he might throw a rock. These Democrat adults seem unable to handle views contrary to their own and so, instead of throwing a rock they throw an epithet. But, the intent is the same – to hurt and silence the one causing them confusion or discomfort; to make them go away.

It is bullying, and bullying is a result of intolerance. Intolerance of those who do not look, think, or behave as the bully would like. It is an attempt to have the victim either go away or change behavior. It results from ignorance and dislike of anything different. It is an attempt to silence that which one does not understand.

Verbal attacks do more than silence the words of opponents; do more than simply stop them from speaking their views. They create an intimidation that reaches one’s soul as they attempt to reform one’s very being into one that the Left find’s acceptable - a clone of their every view. That creates a separation of being as the victims understand that they are seen as some sort of evil worthy only of shaming and exclusion. This sort of intolerance is wrong. Whether it is addressed toward someone’s looks or race or sexual orientation or religious persuasion or political stance, it is bullying, plain and simple. And the wounds often remain, silencing one’s soul for a lifetime.

I suspect many on the Left would condemn words that may have effected the silencing of others in the past: hateful words flung at gays or Blacks or Jews or mentally disabled or anyone else who looks or behaves differently from some “norm” of the attacker. Yet how different is that from berating one with words like racist, supremacist, hater, inhumane (the list goes on and on) or banishing someone from one’s world simply because a person holds a different political view, a view that the Left is unwilling to tolerate or understand?

While they often accuse those on the Right of intolerance, the Left has a blanket intolerance for any and all who do not think like them. This is what those without tolerance seek: silence of those whom they choose not to tolerate. The Left’s use of bullying words is nothing more than evidence of their intolerance and unwillingness to listen to those with whom they disagree; their assaults are intended to shame or intimidate differing views into silence. They break the bones of the victims' souls.

The Left’s use of verbal assaults is cruel and heartless and by its very nature flies in the face of all they claim to stand for; it belies their claims of caring for humanity from all walks of life while proving their real objective of claiming uncontested and ultimate power for themselves.

Yes, sticks and stones may break one’s bones, but the Left's words of intolerance break the soul – the soul of the victim, of free and open discussion, and of America itself.