by Shannon
Why is it that many public officials are so willing to deny the right of freedom of speech to those who work with them, for them, or near them? I’ve heard of this happening frequently and experienced it myself. A former boss went so far as to tell me that if I ever said anything bad about her she would fire me. She didn’t care whether what I said was true or not (and trust me, most of it was). A current elected official has posted a job advertisement in which he states that he requires “personal loyalty.” As wonderful as the job he is offering sounds, I think it is unwise to work for an elected official who is so honest about his insecurity and yet is not insecure enough to hide his apparent psychosis. PLEASE NOTE: You cannot force "personal loyalty" but you can fake it. In fact Ann and I are writing under pseudonyms because we work in public offices and even if we never talk about our offices or name names, it’s safer for us this way.
Why is it that many public officials are so willing to deny the right of freedom of speech to those who work with them, for them, or near them? I’ve heard of this happening frequently and experienced it myself. A former boss went so far as to tell me that if I ever said anything bad about her she would fire me. She didn’t care whether what I said was true or not (and trust me, most of it was). A current elected official has posted a job advertisement in which he states that he requires “personal loyalty.” As wonderful as the job he is offering sounds, I think it is unwise to work for an elected official who is so honest about his insecurity and yet is not insecure enough to hide his apparent psychosis. PLEASE NOTE: You cannot force "personal loyalty" but you can fake it. In fact Ann and I are writing under pseudonyms because we work in public offices and even if we never talk about our offices or name names, it’s safer for us this way.
The real irony is that public officials from the county level to the national level take oaths of office and those oaths explicitly talk about upholding or defending (or both) the Constitution. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t freedom of speech mentioned somewhere in the United State’s Constitution? I’m almost sure of it.
Hmmm… let’s see… Article I is about the Legislature. Article II is about the Executive Branch. Article III is about the Judiciary. Hmmmm… where is it? Oh here it is! Number one on the Bill of Rights says:
Now I recognize that it says Congress won’t mess it up, but what about other officials like presidents, governors, judges, or prosecutors? In taking the oath of office, the official implicity swears to uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution’s grant of the right of freedom of speech. If you give your word that you will uphold or defend (or both) the Constitution then it is imperative that you honor its ideals in your own life and your own offices regardless of the personal cost. Dear Readers, READ THE CONSTITUTION and then hold your public officials and your bosses feet to the fire if they dare to infringe upon your Constitutional rights or the rights of anyone else.
Next week beginning on Monday, Ann and I will discuss the First Amendment. As you can see above, it is a dense Amendment with at least 5 components, so your guess is as good as ours as to where the discussion will lead. Please feel free to comment next week and engage in the discussion regardless of whether you agree or disagree with us, regardless of whether we agree or disagree with each other, and regardless of whether you are a conservative or liberal. Our nation only works when both sides participate.
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