Ripping Up the First Amendment

It's not possible to live in the United States without being aware of the holy Second Amendment. That little 27-word ditty is practically seared on the inside of every American eyelid at birth (minus the "well regulated Militia" part, of course).

Fewer Americans seem to be aware of other amendments, many of which guarantee rights beyond the ability to carry a mid-sized arsenal into the Piggly Wiggly. Among those is the First Amendment, which is only slightly longer than its nearest sibling.

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.

For such a brief statement, the First Amendment lifts way above its weight class. It promises that the government won't interfere in how people choose to worship, what they say, who they associate with, and it promises that Americans won't be punished for pointing out when their representatives are being absolute jackasses. That's a pretty good start to any government.

Naturally, Republicans hate this amendment. Because the whole point of an authoritarian oligarchy is interfering in all of the things the First Amendment protects.

They want to declare that the United States is a "Christian nation." Specifically, a white Christian nation.

Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor in Pennsylvania, has argued that America is a Christian nation and that the separation of church and state is a “myth.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia hard-liner, declared: “We need to be the party of nationalism and I’m a Christian, and I say it proudly, we should be Christian Nationalists.

They want to restrict freedom of speech in every way imaginable, including banning books, defunding libraries, removing licenses from broadcasters, and even creating lists of forbidden words.

They want to tell you who you can associate with whether you are a civilian or member of the military. And when that restriction on assembly reinforces their renewed support of expanding racism and sexism, all the better.

The groups on the freshly published banned list at West Point serve exactly the purpose intended by the framers of the Constitution: allowing people to organize and collectively advocate for their interests. Government action banning these groups is a direct and blatant violation of the assembly clause of the First Amendment.

The book bans, the assault on libraries, and the threats to media outlets are a full-bore attack on the free speech clause of the First Amendment. So is the publication of an official list of forbidden words.

The efforts to rebrand the United States as a "Christian nation," an idea that would have been shocking to the authors of America's very first international treaty which boldly declares that "the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion." An endorsement of any specific religion would be a horrendous betrayal of the millions who have come to the United States seeking an end to religious persecution, including many of this nation's Christians.

All these protections were placed in the Bill of Rights—at the very beginning of that list—precisely because those involved in its authorship had experienced what it meant to be without any choice in their religion, without the freedom of speech, and without the freedom to associate with whoever they chose.

What Republicans are doing in assaulting the First Amendment isn't just returning the nation to some earlier phase; this is ripping up the foundation stones of America itself. The First Amendment is a succinct compilation of the principles at the core of the Revolution and the Constitution. The First Amendment is America.

And the damage done to America is already severe.

Less than a month into Trump's reign the coup does not yet seem to have focused on the final piece of the First Amendment. It is still possible, at this point, for Americans to complain about the actions of their government and to plead with their representatives to take action against the ongoing harm.

But the First Amendment cannot guarantee that anyone is listening.