The First Amendment: Some Thoughts.

"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." First Amendment

The first amendment of the United States grants us certain privileges, which if you ask any red-blooded American, is something to take pride in. Manifest Destiny, our God-given rights for our God-given land. However as of late this has become a divisive issue. A two-edged sword. The right to speak your mind comes with the caveat that others around you have the same privilege. What then?

Let's talk about debates. Not the style of the YouTube famous debate-bros, who's honest intention is to antagonize and rage-bait. Not the circle-jerk of political mudslinging. Not the competitive style seen in schools and universities. Something where we, instead of trying to win, seek for understanding. Everything else is counterproductive.

A lament voiced by Robert McNamara late in his life regarding the Vietnam war, was the all-too-late realization that if he had sat to talk with the leaders in those regions, so much bloodshed could have been avoided.

What do we get by sitting down and having a conversation? Well let's back up. First off, both parties need to let go of their implicit bias that they are emphatically correct. Instead adopting an open environment where there might be something new to learn. We find common ground.

That's it. That's what we get.

We find out we watch the same shows. Listen to the same music. Cheer for the same sports teams. We find that our supposed opponent isn't some brainwashed bloodthirsty demon, but HUMAN!

A surface level critique of the first amendment, we realize that we ourselves may have to impose limits to avoid the decay of a shared morality. If we are truly going to see our fellow brethren as HUMAN, then surely we'd do away with hate speech in all its forms, would we not? There's also the unfortunate question we have to ask, who in our modern day is interpreting the meaning of the first amendment, and what are the power structures at play allowing some to be heard while quelling others? Who is deciding what speech is right and wrong?

Algorithms, media outlets, and everything around us in the United States, has an absolute monopoly on our attention. As some have termed, the "attention economy". With more division and outrage comes more engagement in the media platforms. Algorithms that know us better than we know ourselves feed us content to drive this outrage. When we fight online, they all win. That's the game--keeping us all engaged and locked in on our devices on their platforms.

Through these outlets those with the power to interpret, control, and disseminate information, true or not, dictate how we see the world around us. People with even more power use this to consolidate more and more power to themselves.

These are the people and parties who count on us continuing to fight amongst ourselves. These are the people who turn themselves into saviours to the common folk. Surely they will deliver us from this evil, whatever it may be.

There is a startling rise in flashpoint incidents happening in the US. Planned or unplanned. From the outside looking in, it appears as if the people at the top are trying to goad every day citizens into conflict for some reason only known to those at the top.

So what do we do?

The privileges we have now are still ours to use--for now at least. Meet neighbors. Make new friends. Have a barbecue. Discover that common ground, and build from there. Get rid of the division within communities. As The Dude would say, "This aggression will not stand, man!".

I have been careful in how I am describing the first amendment. I have been using the word Privilege throughout this post. What's the difference between a right and a privilege? A right is something that is guaranteed. Carved in stone. A right is something that cannot be taken away. A privilege on the other hand is conditional. It has been granted by an authority and can be taken away. As stated earlier, we don't know who's currently interpreting and controlling the dissemination of information. But it's something we must all critique and call into question.

There could be a time in the future where we may not have protected speech. We may not have be able to peaceably assemble. We ma not be able to petition the government for a redress of grievances. We have to build and strengthen our communities today to ensure that does not happen.

I have hope when I see people assemble. I see there are people with passion and love for their communities. I see a future where we might share things in common, taking care of the welfare of others. People standing up for the rights of others as HUMAN beings. We are on a path that will be tough, but we must come together or risk tearing each other apart in a mess of pseudo-intellectual bullshit. We need to stop repeating the same talking points fed to us through our reels and feeds, and take a look at who's controlling what we see and hear, and why.

Build your communities. Take care of each other. Get rid of the animosity. Only then will be be able to build bridges again and push back against those who's power solely depends on keeping us divided.