The First Amendment of the Constitution is a beautiful thing! Freedom of speech and religion is as important as the Second Amendment—maybe more so. Recently, I observed the Freedom Convoy rolling by Whitehall on Interstate 90 protesting mandatory COVID restrictions. Whether your car has a Biden/Harris bumper sticker, or you are flying a Trump flag, I strongly support our right to free speech, to a point. However, when protests violate the rights of others—by burning and looting at one or two Black Lives Matter demonstrations, deliberately disrupting commerce like the recent Canadian truckers protest, or enhancing the spread of disease in the name of freedom—that is where my support ends. Our constitutional rights come with responsibilities.
We all have the right to express our views, and protest in a civil manner. In doing so, we do not have the right to disrupt, violate or take away the civil rights of other Americans. So, I am curious and hopeful to see which off-ramp these transiting truckers take. Will they take the civility off-ramp, or exit into civil disobedience? Can our democratic republic survive another Jan. 6? I hope they consider any consequences and choose wisely.
