The first amendment to the Constitution reads as follows: 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. There is a situation right now in the United Kingdom that makes the case that this amendment is absolutely essential to the maintenance of a free society of free individuals.
First, go back in history a bit. Samuel Adams: Hooligan, Rabble Rouser and Instigator – and then Founding Father and Statesman. Spoke his mind about liberty even during the reign of a British monarch. Tommy Robinson: Hooligan and Rabble Rouser. Speaks his mind about the impact of mass migration on the UK. What will he eventually be – if he lives.
Mr. Robinson has been harassed by a British government that cannot tolerate dissent, and has specifically declared that any uncomfortable truths about government immigration policy amount to hate speech. Mr. Robinson violated that policy, and this past week was again arrested, tried and imprisoned (all in about an hour’s time). As part of the trial and imprisonment, the judge imposed a gag order on the news media and thus attempted to “disappear” Robinson. Fortunately, the as yet unidentified judge was unable to impose a gag order on social media.
The result is now worldwide condemnation of the authoritarian and totalitarian brutality of British law. The obvious political abuse by the police and judiciary has shocked many British subjects and led to demonstrations against the British government itself. Many British subjects consider Mr. Robinson’s imprisonment to be a death sentence that will be carried out by prison inmates, many of whom are jihadists.
The Western European nations have been under the very heavy-handed yoke of the socialist dominated European Union for quite some time now. Quite recently, however, the EU’s open borders policy has come into question. Supported by the national leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Sweden, etc., this policy has led to a massive and continuous influx of African, mid-Eastern and Asian migrants. Most of these migrants have an Islamic background and the culture clashes within Western Europe have been extensive. National leaders have used police threats as well as court-imposed fines and imprisonment to silence those who expose the realities of open borders migration.
The Constitution of the United States, Article 1, prohibits the federal government from punishing uncomfortable speech, from gagging the press, and from intruding into religious affairs. For liberty to prosper in America, the founders designed a limited government with minimal interference in the activities of the citizenry. In today’s UK, as well as much of Western Europe, the opposite appears to be true – unlimited government that refuses to accept criticism and severely punishes subjects who dissent.
Thank God for the wisdom of the Founders. Thank God for the Constitution they gave us.