How Do You Rate Free Speech?

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances”

There it is in black and white, the 1st Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. Although some people would like to find some ambiguity in the 1st Amendment (or for that matter all of the other Amendments), the simplicity in its wording is what makes it so brilliant. The Constitution is a rule book for the federal government to follow, a guide to the caring and feeding of a strong and free republic.

One webpage that benefits from the Freedom of Speech is dailykos.com. This left leaning website finds glee whenever they perceive anyone, who does not think like them, is somehow embarrassed or shown up. “Daily KO’s” offered congratulations to former-Army General Wesley Clark for his appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show (Daily KO's). During his appearance Mr. Clark suggested political speech should adhere to a rating system, like movies do, and the first person Mr. Clark would apply this rating system to, the evil Rush Limbeaugh.

Mr. Clark served our country with honor and deserves our thanks. However, I am even more thankful that he is no longer a member of the United States Military. Suggesting that a rating system should be applied to political speech, an idea born out of the misrepresentation of the “phony soldier” comments made by Rush Limbaugh, is censorship, plain and simple. The first thing an oppressive government does to control the people is stifle the freedom of speech, and the fact that a former military leader made this suggestion is an example of why our military answers to a civil authority.




I can only imagine the outcry (and rightly so) if a conservative had suggested this rating system. The fact the Daily KO was so consumed by the “can of whoop ass” that Mr. Clark opened up on Tucker, they some how neglected to see that Mr. Clark was in fact recommending “abridging” our right to free speech. Good job Daily KO.........way to be vigilante!

First, the movie rating system is a private entity, established by the entertainment community to police themselves. Granted it was born out of the necessity to stop government intervention, but it is in no way a government agency. The movie rating system is to ensure that an audience is attending age appropriate material. The movie rating system is not the overseer of free speech. A movie can still be released and shown in this country without first passing the movie rating board.

Secondly, a rating system mandated and controlled, with the express desire to affect politic dissent, by a federal government agency would be a clear violation of the 1st Amendment. Speech that points “a defiant finger” at the US Government is exactly the type of speech our founding fathers envisioned when they wrote the 1st Amendment.

Mr. Clark, and those at Daily KO’s, would do well to remember the words of Abraham Lincoln:

“Our safety, our liberty, depends upon preserving the Constitution of the United States as our fathers made it inviolate. The people of the United States are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution. “

It is always important for us to remember that our Constitution is a covenant that ensures we “do not fear our government, but that our government fears” the people they swore to serve. Laws such as the proposed Fairness Doctrine, and rating systems suggested by Mr. Clark, are ideas that have served the governments of Russia, Cuba, Burma, and China well. Unfortunately the people living within those borders have suffered greatly. Is that the "vision" Mr. Clark has for America?