Off The Editor’s Desk – 1-20-2021
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Freedom of speech, we all have it!
We as citizens of the United States have the freedom of speech, but it is under assault and if we do not take action, we could lose that freedom and the other four freedoms guaranteed under the First Amendment of the Constitution.
As citizens of this great county we should be able to exercise those freedoms without fear of physical or financial harm.
We found out last week, social media giant Twitter permanently banned President Trumps account after the mob stormed the nation’s capitol. The purge has begun. Big Tec is now providing censorship so what we hear and learn is only what they want us too.
Robert Romano of the “Daily Torch” summed it up this way. “In the fallout of the tragic storming of the U. S. Capitol, where police were unjustly attacked, doors broken down, windows smashed, and offices robbed, resulting in the death of five individuals including a Capitol Hill Police officer, we have entered a brave new world.”
Romano continued, “You either bend the knee, and renounce President Trump, or your days on social media or in official Washington D. C. could be numbered.” He continued: “Make no mistake. This is a bid for one-party rule.”
First of all, I have some mixed emotions with Twitter banning Trump and others. They are the owners of the platform and can do what they like with it. I am the publisher of this small weekly newspaper and do not print all the letters to the editor that I receive. As publisher I am responsible for what is printed in this newspaper and could be held libel for what is printed. As compared to the social media platform, there is a federal law which protects the social media from libel and people say almost anything that comes into their mind, truthful or not.
Make no doubt about it, the liberals want to control what we hear and do. I recall from the Democratic debates during the presidential campaign last fall that our now Vice President elect, soon to be Vice President on January 20th, she indicated that Trump should be banned from Social Media.
Over the years that I have written this column, I have received support from many. I also have been called to task by subscribers. Some of them have criticism of my column in a very constructive way. But, I have also faced the brunt of what I call undeserved. Just a couple of weeks ago, a loyal reader from Boyceville stopped in at our Glenwood City office to inform me that he was not going to renew his subscription. He went on to inform me of all the great things he had done in his life, but “you have been dooped and you’re dishonest,” he told me.
Even if we don’t like an opinion that someone else has, don’t respond in a negative way. A good debate sometimes clears the air. But, part as friends and the entire world will be better.
Just in case you forgot about the First Amendment and its freedoms I will print the entire Amendment.
“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 grievance.”
In 45 words, we have been given the freedoms that no other people on earth have enjoyed.
And, also don’t forget the right afforded us under the Second Amendment.
I would like to conclude with a few quotes from President Ronald Reagan, about the matter at hand:
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
“The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant, it’s just that they know so much that isn’t so.”
“Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond it’s limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.”
Thanks for reading! ~Carlton