Are you confused about why the country is so polarized, so divided? Do you feel like the country you love has been taken hostage? Do you wonder why our country seems to be tearing itself apart? Do you want to know what the number one conflict between progressives and conservatives is? Do you want to know how Donald Trump got elected? The answer to all of these questions is the same, and it isn't hatred, whitelash, or racism. The answer to all of these troubling questions is a conflict over the 1st Amendment.
You're probably wondering how that could possibly be. But hear me out. I'm going to make a case for how vigorously defending the first amendment can help resolve the polarization of America, help you become proud of your country again, and lead to a future in which politicians can collaborate and bipartisanly work together to make the country the best it can be for all of its citizens.
The First Amendment to the Constitution says, “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.” In this Amendment, all citizens are given the express right to Freedom of Speech, Expression, and Religion. Why are these important and what do they have to do with the current conflicts and polarization? I’ll tell you.
Have you heard people say that social media is suppressing or censoring specific voices and thought it was a load of crap? Have you heard about speakers being forced off college campuses because their rhetoric was too hateful that their words essentially were a form of violence? Have you participated in suppressing anyone’s speech either online or in person because you didn’t like what they had to say? Have you or anyone you know participated in calling others names like racist, bigot, or fascist because they have the wrong opinion? How about a Snowflake, Millennial, Social Justice Warrior, Keyboard Commando, or bleeding heart liberal? The intolerance of ideas and beliefs contrary to our own is the cause of the cultural war in America.
People must be allowed to not only have thoughts and opinions you don’t like, they must be able to express them. What the US currently has is a nation of people who can’t communicate with one another. If we communicated openly without being so offended or horrified by what others have to say that we can’t even tolerate listening to one another, we’d learn that both political parties essentially have the same goals. The parties differ on what they think the problems and solutions to society's ills are, and both parties have legitimate points. Shouldn’t then any legislation be bipartisan so that pitfalls that others with different points of view see be avoided?
Freedom of Expression is the ability of groups and individuals to express their beliefs, thoughts, ideas, and emotions about different issues, legislation, or social problems free from censorship. Have you or anyone you know called someone or been accused of being anti-science, uneducated, a deplorable, a racist, a bigot, or a fascist because someone expressed an opinion that someone else didn’t like? That is a form of censorship. Refusing to let people speak on campuses because their rhetoric is too damaging is a form of censorship. Refusing to let people comment on issues because they don’t have a uterus is a form of censorship. Refusing to let people have an opinion because they are a cisgender privileged white male is a form of censorship. Refusing to hear the lived experiences of POC is a form of censorship. Refusing to hear people express that racism might be alive and well because you haven't personally experienced it is censorship. Are we, generally as a nation, seeking to silence expressions we don’t like? Are we, generally, refusing to entertain ideas contrary to our own?
We also can’t ascribe our own emotions and reasoning onto others, assuming that we know their motivations or reasoning for feeling or thinking the way that they do. When we project what our own motivations would be onto someone else we’re often wrong. Even President Obama fell into this trap when he said small town midwest voters "get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." Have you ever talked with someone about why they cling to guns? Or have recent events made that more clear to you? Have you ever talked to people about if they are actually anti-immigration or if they are opposed to certain policies on other grounds? What is their reasoning? Are they anti-trade? Or are they opposed to some other nuance of current or proposed policy?
And now, for that pesky religion part. Most of us simplify this part of the amendment and say that we have Freedom of Religion. Some people take offense at this and shout that there should be separation of church and state, and that you can have your religious beliefs as long as you keep those things at home. Those people want freedom from religion--but not so fast. When we actually define religion, we see that it's basically any belief system regarding behaviors, practices, morals, and ethics. Simplified, religion is just our belief system and we all have one whether we belong to a formal organized religion or not.
When we examine the text of the amendment we see that it says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. . .” This means that Congress isn’t supposed to make laws that favor one belief system over another, whether that belief system is Socialism, Christianity, or White Supremacy. Separation of church and state means the government cannot impose a sanctioned religion on us, not that people's political decisions should be made without regard to their values or beliefs. The government is also not supposed to be allowed to "[prohibit] the free exercise [of our religion]." As long as we are not breaking the laws of our country, we are allowed to live according to the dictates of our own conscience and we allow all men the same privilege to live and worship how, where, or what they may. Progressives seem to worry that their rights to peaceably assemble and to "petition the Government for a redress of grievances" are being suppressed. Conservatives seem to fear that forces outside of their control are trying to limit their ability to worship and live their lives according to their values. Both groups fear for the loss of their freedoms and rights. Both, it appears are willing to risk their health and safety to oppose the loss of these rights. Why are we fighting if we're on the same team, desperate to maintain the very same freedoms that everyone holds most dear?
We all make political decisions based on our belief and value systems, which is living according to our religion. America is supposed to be the land of the free and home of the brave because people are allowed to have ideological differences and work together for the benefit of America's citizens regardless. We cannot seek to oppose those who don’t agree with us by smothering their voices from public discourse. No one wants anyone else trying to police their thoughts and minds. Quite simply our laws should reflect the rules that we can all agree upon. If we want to persuade others to support our case for change, whatever it may be, we should use persuasion and let our arguments stand on their own merit. If we lack support for our case, we shouldn't disparage those who oppose it. We should make a stronger more persuasive case.
If we believe our belief system to be superior (which we all should or it shouldn't be our system) we shouldn’t mind if our children, ourselves, or others are exposed to other systems of belief. Why would the free discussion of ideas or beliefs be restricted or opposed? If ours is superior, it should stand on its own merit against other systems, shouldn’t it? Why would we be afraid of opposing ideas unless we doubt the superiority of our own system? You wouldn't change your system unless you found something better, right? So the worst that could happen is we find a better system to adopt? Do we doubt people’s intelligence to choose for themselves? Who gets to decide which belief systems are better? What if it’s your belief system that’s under attack? This is why we can’t seek to police or suppress any ideas or beliefs and we must all defend the First Amendment.
You might be thinking this is all fine and good, but racism is the biggest problem dividing us right now, what the heck does the First Amendment have to do with that? Without a free discourse of ideas, we’ll never be able to communicate well enough to learn what the root causes of inequality are, and without correctly identifying what the root problems are we’ll never be able to address them. Is the problem police brutality and unequal application of the law? Is the problem higher incarceration of blacks? What is that higher incarceration rate due to? Hatred? Bias? Criminality? Poverty? Depending upon what the problem actually is, the remedies will be different. We need to be able to talk openly about these things without vilifying one another or becoming so offended that we cease trying to communicate at all.
The biggest problem we face is actual tolerance and equality in thought, speech, and belief. Currently many in our country have an intolerance for the very ideals that are the foundation of our country. This intolerance of ideas, speech, and belief systems is what is causing the division and polarization of America. If we can agree to disagree in our speech and belief systems, we can move past the pettiness plaguing our politics and move on to addressing the actual issues facing our country in a spirit of cooperation and advancement. We must have the courage to admit that morality exists. Morality exists independent of "religion" and we need to acknowledge that. We need leaders who are moral, exemplify qualities we can admire and aspire to, and who can give us a vision of America worth fighting for.
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