You cannot find an area in American life where free speech from the conservative point of view is not being attacked.  Conservative speakers cannot go onto a liberal college campus and speak without riots, students destroying other people’s property, and they seem to do it with impunity.  But there are other areas where the freedom to express one’s self is also being targeted and that is showing respect to those that have lost their lives in domestic terror attacks.

There is one university that has begun to practice shariah law.  It is Southern Methodist University. I find it disgraceful that an American University is willing to capitulate to the demands of the people that murdered, in cold blood, 3,000 Americans on American soil! Southern Methodist University prevented a student group from predominantly displaying a 9/11 memorial that featured almost 3,000 American flags to honor those slain, according to a Wednesday report.

The school blocked its Young Americans for Freedom group from displaying the memorial on Dallas Hall Lawn because of a July 2017 policy that stressed its desire to “avoid messages that are triggering, harmful, or harassing” in the location, according to The College Fix.

The college will allow the group to display the memorial at a different location, but the two groups have different opinions concerning why the request for the first location was denied.

“All approved lawn displays, regardless of sponsoring organization or subject, now will be located on a larger site, MoMac Park,” said SMU in a statement posted Tuesday to Twitter, describing the policy edited in July. “The policy has been further updated to better reflect [the balance between freedom of speech and freedom from coercion/harassment] and to remove the poor wording regarding triggering or harmful messages.”

“This new location is far less prominent than the iconic Dallas Hall Lawn, which thousands of students, faculty and local residents pass by every day and serves as the heart of our campus,” said the SMU College Republicans on Facebook in response. “This is disappointing considering that the purpose of the many displays that our organizations construct is to generate respectful, diverse dialogue so that our campus will be a center for thoughtful and engaging discussion that inspires and informs the ‘World Changers’ we are all striving to become.” 1

You may quote me on this: “I don’t care if we offend muslims with our memorials to those they murdered! If they are offended, leave my country!”  Our free speech is being attacked from all sides and there are even knee jerk jurists sitting on the bench that deny Americans the right of free speech.  A federal judge banned the mention of Muslims and Islam at an upcoming New Jersey town public hearing concerning an Islamic group’s request to build a mosque.

The August 8 public hearing will discuss the $3.25 million settlement the Department of Justice ordered Bernards Township to pay in May to the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge for denying their permit to build a mosque in a residential area, according to Fox News. A Christian non-profit law firm, The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), filed a federal lawsuit over the judge’s word ban on behalf of Christopher and Loretta Quick, who live within 200 feet of the site zoned for the mosque.

“Bernards Township capitulated to the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, not only paying them $3.25 million and allowing the construction of a mosque in a residential area not suited for such a building, but violated the free speech rights of its citizens by prohibiting them from commenting on Islam or Muslims at an upcoming public hearing,” Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of TMLC, told Fox News.

“Our lawsuit points out that in the complaint that gave rise to the settlement agreement, the Islamic Society made references to Christians on 24 occasions and Jews on 11 occasions. By the terms of the settlement agreement, the Islamic Society may continue to comment on Christians and Jews. The township has only prohibited comments concerning Islam and Muslims. This is un-American and runs counter to our Constitution,” Thompson added.2

If this offends them, too bad.  What really bothers me is the pathetic game of political correctness being played by the authorities of the university. This is an act of showing respect to those innocent lives lost by the barbaric actions of radical muslims and the university is afraid of offending them!  Really?

How about the left forcing all monuments concerning the Confederate States and the Civil War and the prominent people in the southern army, General Lee, General Jackson and the others.  Many statues have been removed and now in New York State Democrat Representative Yvette Clarke is demanding that streets named after General Lee and General Jackson be renamed because they represent the South’s demand to keep slavery alive. Democratic Rep. Yvette Clarke is vowing to fight the U.S. Army’s refusal to change streets named after Confederate generals at a New York base.

The names of the two streets receiving flak from Clarke are Stonewall Jackson Drive and General Lee Avenue, both of which are located at Fort Hamilton and received the names in the first place because Lee and Jackson spent time at the base before the start of the Civil War, The Hill reports.

So far, the Army has refused to bend to pressure by renaming the streets, earning Clarke’s ire.

“These monuments are deeply offensive to the hundreds of thousands of Brooklyn residents and members of the armed forces stationed at Fort Hamilton whose ancestors Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson fought to hold in slavery,” Clarke said in statement Monday. “For too many years, the United States has refused to reckon with that history. I commend the city of New Orleans for initiating this important and often difficult work. I will continue to petition the Department of the Army to contribute to that effort.”

After New Orleans removed monuments to Confederate figures, Clarke sent a letter to the Army in June asking for the Fort Hamilton street names to be changed.

The Army hasn’t budged, but says it understands the “significance and sensitivity” of the matter. The Army also added that the streets were given Confederate names after the war “in the spirit of reconciliation.”

“After over a century, any effort to rename memorializations on Fort Hamilton would be controversial and divisive,” Acting Assistant Secretary of the Army Diane Randon responded to Clarke. 3  It appears that “in the spirit of reconciliation” does not fit the narrative of the left.  It appears that all evidence of the left’s hatred of blacks must be removed and if the proof of their hatred is allowed to evidenced it will look bad for the Democrat Party. News flash – the Democrat Party looks bad all by its self.  Proof, Shelia Jackson Lee, Maxine Waters, Diane Feinstein, Chuck Schumer and the list is longer than I want to take to write.

It is obvious that the Democrat Party is not and in my opinion never really been for the American people.  They are for the Democrat Party and their agenda.  On a head stone of a man that died in 1890 at the age of 78 he had engraved a warning about the Democrats.  It reads as follows: “Through this inscription I wish to enter my dying protest against what is called the Democrat Party.  I have watched it closely from the days of (Andrew) Jackson and know that all the misfortunes of our nation has come to it through this so-called party, therefore beware of this party of treason.” Everything that has made America great, our Constitution, Bill of Rights and the concept of people governing themselves for the benefit of the people are all stumbling blocks for Democrats in their quest to have absolute control over the people.  The two things they fight the hardest against is our 2nd Amendment rights and our free speech.  ALL actions against our free speech come from Democrats. Food for thought.

© 2017 Roger Anghis – All Rights Reserved

E-Mail Roger Anghis: roger@buildingthetruth.org

FootNotes:

  1. 911 memorial removed submitting islam
  2. Judge bans mention of Muslims and Islam at public meeting
  3. Dem rep flips after army refuses to rename base confederate street names