Like sheep to the slaughter.
George Washington on freedom of speech. (The Commonplace Project)
“If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” — George Washington, The Newburgh Address
I just ordered Ron Chernow’s Washington: A Life. I am determined to really start a reading project I’ve been wanting to dive into since my undergraduate years, where I had an American History minor.
The plan is to read a biography of every American president. Starting with Washington.
First 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 grievances.
Freedom of Speech is guaranteed by the first amendment of the US Constitution, so it’s not unusual that the first POTUS had something to say about it. I do find it interesting to see what Presidents have to say about the first amendment, which ensures freedom of speech and the press.
Thomas Jefferson: “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.”
John Adams: “The liberty of the press is essential to the security of the state.”
FDR: “You tell me that law is above freedom of utterance. And I reply that you can have no wise laws nor free entertainment of wise laws unless there is free expression of the wisdom of the people — and, alas, their folly with it. But if there is freedom, folly will die of its own poison, and the wisdom will survive.”
Barack Obama: “I accept that people are going to call me awful things every day, and I will always defend their right to do so.”
Which is why it’s so shocking that we currently have a president who says something like this: “it is frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write and people should look into it.”
I enjoyed this short video about the basics of the freedom of speech.
Two of my favorite novels, since I was a teenager, deal with dystopian futures where the first amendment has been dismantled — Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 (1966 movie and 2018 HBO series) and George Orwell’s 1984. (1985 movie.)
First Amendment by Govind Ramakrishnan (an 18 year old poet)
In the land of the free Home of the brave, Freedom of speech In schools and colleges Have been quietly placed In a state of coma…. Resuscitation near impossible Eventually laid to rest In an unmarked grave At a quiet cemetery Next to our founding fathers
Here’s my secret weapon for sticking with whatever your thing is.
Shaunta Grimes is a writer and teacher. She is an out-of-place Nevadan living in Northwestern PA with her husband, three superstar kids, two dementia patients, a good friend, Alfred the cat, and a yellow rescue dog named Maybelline Scout. She’s on Twitter @shauntagrimes and is the author of Viral Nation and Rebel Nation and the upcoming novel The Astonishing Maybe. She is the original Ninja Writer.
