By
Lee Duigon
April 21, 2016
NewsWithViews.com
As Thomas Jefferson asserted in the Declaration of Independence, we are “endowed by [our] Creator with certain inalienable rights” which were eventually spelled out in the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
But the nations of the West, having turned away from their Creator, find now that their rights are no longer inalienable.
For those educated in public school, “inalienable” means it can’t be sold, given away, or taken away. (We allow 60 seconds for sardonic laughter.) Our rights seem to be getting less inalienable by the day.
Perhaps we ought to expect this to be going on in Europe. What do they know of free speech or any other God-given right?
In Germany, for instance, the government has decided to prosecute a popular TV comedian for the crime of making fun of the president of Turkey, Bongo (or whatever his name is: who cares?) Erdogan, who saw the TV show and complained.
Germany has no First Amendment protecting free speech or anything else. What Germany does have is an old Kaiser Wilhelm-era law that makes it a jailing offense to disparage or make fun of a foreign head of state. If you’ve ever seen how German funsters make mincemeat of Obama, especially in the Obama floats they design for some of their parades, you may well wonder where that law has been for all this time. But never mind. Current German politics dictates appeasement of Middle Eastern despots, so probably the comic goes to jail. And so much for free speech in Germany.
Here in America, where we have a First Amendment to protect free speech, we now see a growing push by “liberals”—well, Democrats, to say it plainly—to outlaw speech and thought that doesn’t jibe with left-wing politics.
Just this month, first we had Bill Nye the Science Guy, promoted from kid TV star to sage and oracle, recommending criminal prosecution for those who dissent from “Climate Change” orthodoxy. He has a lot of company. Unable to win their argument by mustering facts to support their position, now they seek to crush dissent by criminalizing it.
Almost immediately afterward, we learned of Democrat state attorneys general—no Republicans were involved—secretly huddling to see if they could actually do this. Well, hey, they gotta Save the Planet from the imaginary threat of man-made Global Warming: can’t let a little thing like the First Amendment get in the way. How else can they herd the people into crummy, cramped Agenda 21 housing, take away their cars and air conditioners, and impose all kinds of climate taxes, if they’ve got those pesky dissenters calling it a hoax?
Oops! Did I just break the law? Probably.
Their political theory is essentially satanic—atheistic, at best. They reject the concept of God-given rights, even as they reject the whole idea of God. Who is God, to tell them what they can or cannot do? They’re our leaders, our bosses, our lords. They can do anything they please.
For decades they’ve been chopping away at God’s moral laws; and no one cared, because, after all, those were only outmoded cultural conventions defining marriage, gender, and all that other stuff that no one in the whoopee crowd believes in anymore.
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In doing so, they created a climate of lawlessness in which they can easily go from overthrowing God’s laws to overthrowing man’s—like, for instance, the First Amendment to the Constitution.
We’ve brought this on ourselves, by feebly defending, or not defending at all, God’s laws. Our current leaders are our punishment.
So enjoy your freedom of speech while you still have it. If our leaders get their way, we won’t have it for much longer.
I have discussed these topics, and others, on my blog, http://leeduigon.com, throughout the week. Please stop by and read! All it takes is just one click to get you there.
© 2016 Lee Duigon - All Rights Reserved
Lee Duigon, a contributing editor with the Chalcedon Foundation, is a former newspaper reporter and editor, small businessman, teacher, and horror novelist. He has been married to his wife, Patricia, for 34 years. See his new fantasy/adventure novels, Bell Mountain and The Cellar Beneath the Cellar, available on www.amazon.com
Website: LeeDuigon.com
E-Mail: leeduigon@verizon.net