America has its faults, but one good thing about our country, “The Land of the Free”, is that we have the right under the Constitution to say what’s on our mind. It’s protected under the First Amendment and is popularly known as “Freedom of Speech and Expression”.
Citizens of dictatorships, autocracies, theocracies, Communist countries and such don’t enjoy such freedom. If a resident of one of those countries were to publicly utter criticism of the President for Life or the Ayatollah, he or she would be apprehended, severely punished, or put to death.
We Americans have lived with this freedom of expression for so long that we take it for granted: it’s our birthright…we think.
Some people in our country enjoy their freedom of speech but don’t believe that others should be allowed to freely exercise theirs. Our recently deposed President exercised his free speech rights virtually non-stop via Twitter when he was in power, saying hateful things, lying a lot, and even condoning violence. On the other hand, he was quite resentful when others spoke out about his hate speech, his lies, and his fanning the flames of insurrection. In fact, he publicly advocated laws should be adopted to stifle opponents of his ideas and journalists delving into his Administration scandals. In one case, peaceful protestors at Lafayette Park in Washington D.C. were routed with tear gas and truncheons when the President didn’t like the optics of angry citizens near the White House.
This is how dictators behave.
I mention this because it’s pro football season and a segment of football fans are upset that some players have pro-Black Lives Matter slogans on their helmets. Most professional football players are African Americans and take issue with the different standards of justice in America. The exercise of free speech by famous Black people on a public stage offends some folks.
I’m old enough to remember the “Black Power” salute by gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos on the awards platform at the 1968 Olympics. This incident outraged many so-called “patriots”, who called those athletes traitors, Communists, and worse. Essentially, White Americans didn’t want Black Americans to exercise their right of free speech: America’s dirty laundry must not be aired in public.
Almost fifty years later, with still a lot of dirty laundry hidden away, some NFL players decided to kneel during the National Anthem, to draw attention to racial injustice in The Greatest Country on Earth. Not surprisingly, lots of Americans found fault with this demonstration of free speech, couching it in the language of “disloyal” and “un-American”. The President himself (yes, Trump again!) opined publicly that these “disrespectful bums should be fired”, making points with his political base while intentionally missing the point that Black citizens feel that the flag disrespects them with an unequal justice system.
Since kneeling during the Anthem drew such withering fire, the NFL players have found a less intrusive way to express their feelings. Of course, the disrespect of the flag was never the issue with their opponents…they just don’t like Black folks speaking their mind. And so, we now see the counter-protest of White folks refusing to watch NFL games.
Personally, I don’t like advertisements for products or political opinions on professional athletes’ uniforms. It takes away from the game, in my opinion. NASCAR, in particular, festoons not only the driver’s uniforms but also the car itself to the extent that it is hard to see anything else but a gaggle of whizzing advertisements circling the track. This so-called “sport” is basically a several-hour long commercial for tires, batteries, dishwashing detergents, and other products. NASCAR fans, who are primarily White folks, apparently love this freedom of expression by the so-called “athletes” and “teams”. Most of the major pro sports, like baseball, basketball, and football have kept such expression to a minimum. Perhaps that’s why the BLM stuff on NFL helmets annoys serious fans. Who knows?
Another freedom of expression that we have in this country is the right to cast a vote for whichever candidate we prefer. At least we’ve had that right in the past.
Apparently, according to the ex-President (yep, the same guy!) and his staunch followers, this right is guaranteed unless one votes for “the wrong guy”. In that case, the vote cast is considered fraudulent, an election won by an opponent is considered “stolen”, and the entire election should be thrown out. According to this logic, candidates elected in urban areas populated by dark-skinned Americans are highly suspect, thus justifying efforts by incumbents (like the ex-President) to declare such elections tainted and coerce elections officials to “find” enough votes to swing the election in the correct direction. If that doesn’t work, intimidation of Congress is acceptable, including physical violence.
This is the America that is coming, my Friends.
Gone will be the days when someone can proudly decorate his car with a bumper sticker saying “Fuck the President” or cast a vote in opposition to the regime.
Enjoy the time you have left.