History does not need to be repeated

Wednesday, July 14, is the French holiday known as Bastille Day.

Wait, please do not put the paper down while muttering "Who gives a rat's derriere about some French holiday?!" Bastille is derived from the word bastide which means fortress. In the years preceding July 14,1789, the French king imprisoned anyone he suspe c t ed of unde rmining hi s supreme reign. Those who were rounded up by clandestine authority were not told what crime they had committed or given a trial to defend themselves. Although the Bastille did not house many people, it became a symbol of tyrannical rule. The citizens of France dared not speak freely about their leaders for fear of being arbitrarily locked up. Finally they stormed the Bastille and put its warden in the guillotine, which marked the popular beginning of the French Revolution.

The French philosopher and writer François-Marie Arouet, also known as Voltaire, was one of the more famous people to have done time in the Bastille. Voltaire is credited with these words, which are a timeless challenge to free speech opponents everywhere: "While I may not agree with what you say, I will defend to the death your right to say it." Put another way, the right to express oneself is more important than the content of what you say, however benign or repulsive it may be.

Fast forward to present times in the United States of America and this principled assertion has been bastardized.

The perceived right of people not to be offended is now purported to be more important than the right to free speech. We are told with Stepford wifel ike as surance that the Fi rs t Amendment is debatable because you cannot yell "fire" in a crowded theater.

The mantra continues that libel laws trump free speech as well. If you take a moment to contemplate these examples you will notice what characteristic they have in common. Both "… bear false witness …" and as such go against the foundation on which our legal system is founded, Mosaic Law.

Free speech is free speech and lying is lying.

Hate speech laws and hate crimes laws have been gaining popularity in recent decades. These laws are a serious threat to an open society. If you strip away the political correctness, we are moving towards identity politics where people group themselves as members of various races, religions and sexual orientations rather than as United States citizens first and foremost.

Basically we are separating the population into perpetrator and victim classes. This is a clear violation of the 14th Amendment by creating unequal standing under the law. If continued, this will prevent any further progress toward creating as tolerant a society as is possible here on earth. When people are focussed on their nominal outward identifiers rather than the content of their respective character, improvement will be stifled at best if not reversed.

On July 7, 2010, a Nat ional Geographic video of The New Black Panther Party's Minister King Shamir Shabazz was released. In it Mr. Shabazz declares, "I hate white people — all of them! Every last iota of a cracker, I hate 'em!" He also clarified, "You want freedom? You're gonna have to kill some crackers! You're gonna have to kill some of their babies." These are clearly incendiary statements, but nonetheless covered by the First Amendment to our U.S. Constitution. He has a right to his thoughts.

What makes Mr. Shabazz's comments relevant to this column is his recent pass for violating federal election law. His prosecution for voter intimidation in the 2008 election was proceeding easily until the new administration took over in January 2009.

Jay Christian Adams is a former Department of Justice official and now whistleblower. He testified under oath that the department showed "hostility" toward those cases that involved black defendants and white victims. If Mr. Shabazz was instead white, and he was intimidating black voters from casting their ballots, do you think there would be any hesitation to prosecute him?

When the rule of law is not consistently followed as best as is humanly possible, people will no longer place trust in their government institutions.

Are Americans losing faith in their government? A June 2010 Rasmussen poll showed just 21 percent believe the current government has the "consent of the governed," a key phrase from our Declaration of Independence.

Bastille Day is a harsh reminder of what happens when those in power lose the confidence of the citizenry.

Let's heed the lesson and hopefully not repeat history.

(Rick Dow is a community activist in Havre. Feedback for his columns can be directed to conservativesrright@ yahoo.com.)